Like all things, Apple products of through a life cycle. The basic life cycle of an Apple product begins in the raw materials then the production, then consumption and then disposal. This is a simple outline of the process:
Supply Chain Opz, 2015, Is Apple Supply Chain Really the No. 1?, http://www.supplychainopz.com/2013/01/is-apple-supply-chain-really-no-1-case.html (accessed 9/9/15)
Raw Materials
The beginnings of your shiny new iPhone 5 are in dusty dirty mines across the world. In fact, the main minerals in an iPhone 5 are gathered from 4 countries and the less common ones, from even more. Gold is harvested from Peru, copper is gathered from Chile, silver is mined from Australia and platinum is found in South Africa.
An iPhone 5 consists of:
-0.000012 oz Platinum (worth $0.02)
-0.88 oz Aluminium (worth $0.05)
-0.56 oz Copper (worth $0.12)
-0.0012 oz Gold (worth $1.58)
-0.012 oz Silver ($0.36)
(Tariq, U, 2013)
The beginnings of your shiny new iPhone 5 are in dusty dirty mines across the world. In fact, the main minerals in an iPhone 5 are gathered from 4 countries and the less common ones, from even more. Gold is harvested from Peru, copper is gathered from Chile, silver is mined from Australia and platinum is found in South Africa.
An iPhone 5 consists of:
-0.000012 oz Platinum (worth $0.02)
-0.88 oz Aluminium (worth $0.05)
-0.56 oz Copper (worth $0.12)
-0.0012 oz Gold (worth $1.58)
-0.012 oz Silver ($0.36)
(Tariq, U, 2013)
Production
Once the raw materials are collected, they are shipped to factories in China, run by Foxconn and Pegatron. The commonly heard stories of harsh working conditions in Chinese factories are most certainly present in these factories. Workers are subject to regular mandatory overtime - adding to over 60 hours a week, treated poorly and unfairly and forced to do many inhumane tasks. (Whitney, L, 2012) One employee commented on how when working there, she "almost felt like an animal," (cited by Whitney, L, 2012). This working environment is very dangerous to workers as they are subject to falling asleep while manning machines some plants have even had explosions. Apple has even had to resort to installing nets around their factories to prevent workers committing suicide (Greene, J, 2012). All of this has led to Apple factories having a negative image and has deterred many buyers. However, Apple are trying to improve these conditions continuously and their efforts are working.
Some people, such as McElhearn from MacWorld (2014), believe that the working conditions are not Apple's direct fault. They are arguing that the conceptions on Apple factories are actually the contractor's faults, Foxconn and Pegatron. This is because Apple do not have significant control over the factories and what goes on in them as they are overseas. Since Apple is such a massive corporation, these people believe that Apple's supply chain has "gotten too big for the company to oversee." (McElhearn, 2014). Without this unheard information, consumers are accusing Apple of problems that they cannot control.
Once the raw materials are collected, they are shipped to factories in China, run by Foxconn and Pegatron. The commonly heard stories of harsh working conditions in Chinese factories are most certainly present in these factories. Workers are subject to regular mandatory overtime - adding to over 60 hours a week, treated poorly and unfairly and forced to do many inhumane tasks. (Whitney, L, 2012) One employee commented on how when working there, she "almost felt like an animal," (cited by Whitney, L, 2012). This working environment is very dangerous to workers as they are subject to falling asleep while manning machines some plants have even had explosions. Apple has even had to resort to installing nets around their factories to prevent workers committing suicide (Greene, J, 2012). All of this has led to Apple factories having a negative image and has deterred many buyers. However, Apple are trying to improve these conditions continuously and their efforts are working.
Some people, such as McElhearn from MacWorld (2014), believe that the working conditions are not Apple's direct fault. They are arguing that the conceptions on Apple factories are actually the contractor's faults, Foxconn and Pegatron. This is because Apple do not have significant control over the factories and what goes on in them as they are overseas. Since Apple is such a massive corporation, these people believe that Apple's supply chain has "gotten too big for the company to oversee." (McElhearn, 2014). Without this unheard information, consumers are accusing Apple of problems that they cannot control.
Consumption
Once manufactured, products are distributed worldwide for public consumption. This is the point where environmental responsibility is placed into the consumer's hands. Apple products are stored in warehouses such as FedEx and the Elk Grove facility in California until being shipped globally to retail stores or online shoppers (Supply Chain Opz, 2015). You might think that most harmful actions are committed by the unknowing public, however, according to Apple's data (2012), only 18% of their greenhouse gas emissions are from customer use.
Once manufactured, products are distributed worldwide for public consumption. This is the point where environmental responsibility is placed into the consumer's hands. Apple products are stored in warehouses such as FedEx and the Elk Grove facility in California until being shipped globally to retail stores or online shoppers (Supply Chain Opz, 2015). You might think that most harmful actions are committed by the unknowing public, however, according to Apple's data (2012), only 18% of their greenhouse gas emissions are from customer use.
Disposal
In the electronic industry, e-waste can be a serious issue, both health-wise and environmentally. In 2014, 4-,396 tonnes of e-waste were collected by Apple through their take-back program. This program allows customers to trade in their old phone in exchange for store credit. Because of this excess amount of e-waste, Apple worked with experts to calculate how much raw material could be retrieved from it (Apple, 2015).
In the electronic industry, e-waste can be a serious issue, both health-wise and environmentally. In 2014, 4-,396 tonnes of e-waste were collected by Apple through their take-back program. This program allows customers to trade in their old phone in exchange for store credit. Because of this excess amount of e-waste, Apple worked with experts to calculate how much raw material could be retrieved from it (Apple, 2015).
"There's more gold in a pound of electronics than a pound of gold ore."
-Ken Beyer (2013)
Apple Inc, 2015. Environmental Responsibility - Finite Resources, http://www.apple.com/au/environment/finite-resources/ (accessed 14/9/15)
Although the take-back program run by Apple is a smart action to take, to show the public that they recycle, it is a uncommonly known program as shown in an anonymous survey that I ran. Over 50% of people had some idea of it but over a quarter of people had only heard about recycled material in iPhone or didn't even know of it.
There is one issue, however with recycling metals and that is, as Minter (2013) states that theoretically, a copper wire can be reused infinitely but it is much harder to extract copper from a circuit board than a singular power cable. And usually, the copper that is extracted is much less than the original amount (Minter, A, 2013)