30-09-2009 Greenpeace: Green points for Hewlett Packard and Apple

Excerpt from the Greenpeace press release:

Apple and Hewlett Packard get green points this month, as HP is rewarded in the latest edition of our Guide to Greener Electronics and Apple releases details of their greenhouse gas emissions. But the big points go to activist consumers for proving once again that public pressure creates positive change.

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Hewlett-Packard had their penalty point lifted by putting a personal computer on the market that is virtually free of PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride, or vinyl plastic) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Only the power supply unit and cable still contain these hazardous substances.

HP made a commitment in 2007 to have all PC products toxic-free in 2009, but went soft on that commitment earlier this year.

So we painted a protest on Hewlett-Packard's roof saying that HP stood for "Hazardous Products," and organized a phone-in protest with the voice talents of William Shatner. With the new HP ProBook 5310m notebook, HP has made the first step in catching up with Apple, which eliminated these materials from its entire product line almost a year ago, and now puts pressure squarely on HP's competitors to put more products on the market that are cleaner and safer.

Apple are still ahead on toxics removal, having eliminated these materials from its entire product line almost a year ago, partly as a result of our "Green my Apple" campaign which brought consumer pressure to bear from people who loved their Macs, but really wished they came in green.