This kind of story makes me want to move to the woods and make my own clothes. It is extremely difficult to track down the source of raw materials for all of your consumer goods, and it is seemingly impossible to avoid using conflict materials.
We need more consumer groups to track down the source of materials and the mining processes used by these companies. It sickens me that my blackberry might be no better than a conflict diamond. I applaud Nokia for making this pledge.
Treehugger.com:
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a source, albeit a small one, for conflict minerals that end up in our electronics. While some companies, such as Nokia, have shown their resolve in never using conflict minerals in their products, other companies have yet to be so transparent. Eve Ensler isn't sitting back about it. Not only are the minerals gathered through abusive means and slave labor, they're also gathered where rape is used as a weapon of war over the mines.
The minerals, such as columbite tantalite or coltan are essential to the function of our gadgets. It's bad enough we have major issues with recycling these devices without harming people. It's even worse when we really examine the harm that can go into making them. Ensler's talk is a wake up call that we have to be equally diligent about the sources of our gadgets as we are about their disposal.
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