When I purchased the Apple computer I’m using to write this blog, I was troubled by the inherent conflict. Was the purchase somehow contributing to the massive suffering of the people in eastern Congo? Rape is used as a weapon of war – more than 7,000 were reported in the last year alone. In excess of 1,000 Congolese continue to lose their lives every day.
I wanted the leaders at Apple know what was on the mind of at least one loyal consumer and wrote individual letters to everyone on the board of directors; Apple senior leadership; public relations staff; and advertising spokesmen and their publicists, asking Apple to:
1) Step forward as the leader in verifiably conflict-free products
2) Sign the Conflict Minerals Pledge, and
3) Design the industry-standard conflict-free icon
You are welcome to customize this sample letter (and unique spokesmen/publicists letters), and use the mailing list to voice your concerns about pending/recent purchases from Apple or your own favorite electronics company.
For background information, I included with the letter:
- John Prendergast’s op-ed “The New Blood Diamonds” in the Boston Globe
- Raise Hope for Congo’s Crisis in the Congo fact sheet
- Hewlett-Packard News Release, commending the Conflict Minerals Trade Act
On an environmental note, I chose a standard-mail campaign for greatest impact, but I was sure to use 100% post-consumer-waste recycled paper. Print the attachments double-sided to save paper and avoid additional postage charges.
I offer my deepest gratitude to the Enough Project and Raise Hope for Congo, whose help and encouragement made this Apple letter-writing campaign possible.
For a refresher on the path of conflict minerals in our consumer electronics, the Enough Project presents this video:
Tags: advocacy, apple, conflict minerals, Congo, sexual violence
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