The electronics industry has guaranteed demand for its products by making it impossible to fix broken devices. This wasteful “planned obsolescence” creates all kinds of detrimental impacts around the world — from environmental degradation, energy overconsumption, and recycling bottlenecks. It’s waste for waste’s sake and it is going mostly unnoticed by hungry electronics consumers.
In “Death By Design,” writer, producer, and director Sue Williams shows how the supply chain for some of the biggest companies in the world — companies like Apple, IBM, and Samsung — are creating avoidable environmental and health hazards. She and iFixit cofounder Kyle Wiens join EHT Executice Director Theodora Scarato for a conversation about the film, what is happening inside China’s electronics production facilities today, and what to expect in the coming years.
Will companies stand up and do the right thing? At the time of the shooting, Apple would not disclose its supply chain. It has since disclosed a list of suppliers, but it does not reveal who its suppliers’ suppliers are. It’s when you follow this chain that the quality of China’s electronics production gets murky — and the risks become real, both for workers on the ground, the water they drink, and the land they farm.
Is there an ethically made electronics device out there? Which data centers are being most economical? Will China take any responsibility for its factories? Will consumers change the way they purchase, use, and toss devices? Watch this fascinating interview and learn more about “Death By Design” at https://ehtrust.org/the-jackson-hole-environmental-health-trust-film-series-death-by-design/
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