New 3G iPhone Goes Green…Maybe Not

Well - it actually only comes in black or white and no, I don’t have one…yet.  The packaging of the product is greener.  Apple has called upon a Dutch company called Paperfoam to make a new mold injection for the packaging tray.  The new tray isn’t plastic like the former iPhone.  It’s made from starch.  The starches are either tapioca or potato.  The potato tray reduces the carbon footprint of the packaging by over 90%. 

So while the packaging is greener, the product itself may not necessarily be that green.  Greenpeace is once again criticizing Apple for not taking advantage of this huge opportunity to make their products more sustainable. 

“Based on information available on Apple’s Web site, it appears the electronics company known for innovation has missed an opportunity to reinvent their new 3G iPhone, to be released July 11, in green,” Harrell said. “While new product models such as the MacBook Air and the new iMac made progress compared to previous editions in reducing toxic chemicals such as PVC [polyvinyl chloride]  and brominated flame retardants (BFR), Apple has not announced any new improvements in designing out the toxics (PVC, BFRs, antimony) that Greenpeace found present in the first-generation iPhone.”

Everything can’t be greener - I just wish Apple would have made a bit more of an effort.  They are selling like crazy - so there are tons of “packages” that are greener…and there are also tons of folks shoving toxic plastic into their orifaces filled with pthalates and PVC.  Then again, people aren’t buying an iPhone to be more sustainable.  If they wanted a phone that was going to last, they’d get a 4 year old Nokia brick.

Source: iPhoneFreak, EDN