Are You Buying “Blood Gadgets”?

In the late 1990s, conflict diamonds a.k.a. “blood diamonds” captured the world’s attention when it was discovered that the some of the same diamonds we were purchasing in our neighborhood jewelry stores were illegally traded to fund the brutal conflict in Sierra Leone and other war-torn areas. After the Kimberley Process Certification System was established, the flow of conflict diamonds has been reduced to considerably less than 1%, but a new illicit trade has since cropped up: “blood gadgets”, with the mining of tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold — metals used in our mobile phones, cameras, and computers — being used to help finance a vicious war in Congo. Human-rights groups are hoping a recent viral campaign will pressure companies to keep “conflict minerals” out of their products but tech companies say it is nearly impossible to know the exact origin of every component. While Apple requires their suppliers to certify in writing that they use conflict-free materials, CEO Steve Jobs conceded there is no way for them to be sure. But just as the “blood diamond” movement resulted in a U.N. resolution to stop the trade of conflict diamonds, the recently passed financial-reform bill, which requires businesses to disclose if their products contain minerals from the Congo region, will hopefully influence socially responsible investors and consumers and help put an end to ‘blood gadgets’. Data on the supply chains of 21 large tech companies will be available in a report by the Enough Project, published on their Website just in time for Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. Pictured: Former militia fighters in Congo mine for gold. Photo Credit: Associated Press