In my last post, I covered two major brands of laptop – Apple and ASUS. I probably got a little overheated when discussing Apple and deviated from my normal detached scientific voice 😉 So I figured that it would be good idea to ask for your input by having a quick survey on laptop brands. Like the previous survey on Starbucks, I want to know how you feel about these brands purely from a social and environmental point of view. In other words, how many Green Stars do you think they deserve?
First up, it would be nice to get ratings for Apple and ASUS since they were featured in the last post (but feel free to skip if you have no opinion on these brands). By the way, if you’re reading this on the WordPress Reader, the polls don’t load properly (no radio buttons) so please click here to see the post in your web browser.
Lastly, which brand would you rate most highly? I haven’t attempted to include every brand here so please comment below this post if you’d like to nominate a company that’s not listed.
As I mentioned in the last post, this is not an easy topic – it’s probably one of the most complicated decisions from an ethical consumerism perspective. So don’t get too overwhelmed – your choice can be based on just one or two criteria. Anything, for example, from packaging, product longevity, and repairability, to the company’s reputation on labor conditions, conflict minerals, effort to remove hazardous chemicals, use of renewable energy, charitable or social contributions, tax avoidance, etc. (More here on how to rate companies.)
Also, please feel free to share any opinions, insights, or news items that you think are relevant in the comments section. For example, here’s an article from Vice on how Apple, in spite of their highly-publicized robots that can disassemble iPhones, are actually undermining the electronics recycling industry by insisting that their phones and laptops are shredded (rather than allowing parts to be reused).
Also, if you would like to write a Green Stars review of anything, let me know; I have a recurring competition to highlight reviews that others have written (and I’m happy to help too). You can always review your laptop since we’re on that topic! Or, after tackling the quagmire of electronics, you may want to take a break and review something a bit more straightforward 🙂
The Green Stars Project 
I wouldn’t know, but, I’d be keen to discover the truth.
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I couldn’t say for sure either so it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any consensus. Alas, the poll doesn’t display properly on the WP reader (on phone) – I’ve notified WP. Works ok on web browser (phone or laptop).
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Yes, not uncommon.
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The iPad is the Apple product I use the most at home and it has ethical consumerism implications. That’s where I read the news and I don’t need to subscribe to the newspaper anymore. I couldn’t do it on my phone (too small) or my computer (too cumbersome). 😉
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It’s true – the iPad and Kindle have a pretty big impact there. I’m glad there are pretty good (and light) convertible laptops now (with IPS screens) that can double as tablets.
Your name looks familiar 😉
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Thank you for creating this site and reflecting on such a pertinent topic!
I have been researching this topic and have not found clear answers.
I have found some helpful resources when considering the ethics of a purchase or brand. I have learned how many electronics contain “conflict minerals”. The Enough Project details this in the context of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
They meticulously research major consumer electronics company in their report and rank them:
https://enoughproject.org/reports/demand-the-supply
Additionally, EPEAT independently verifies ecological claims manufacturers make about their products. You can search products using their tool: https://ww2.epeat.net/SearchOptions.aspx
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Thanks for the input Eli – they are good resources.
I covered conflict minerals a little bit in a post on cell phones: https://greenstarsproject.org/2017/03/08/ethical-cell-mobile-phone-impact/
Cheers!
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Certainly! I did a bit more research and learned about the company iameco. They have built a desktop and are working on a laptop that embraces ecological design: http://www.iameco.com/d4r/overview/
Their stated vision and designs stand out from a number of major personal computing manufacturers.
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Hi Eli! I had come across them but didn’t mention them in the article cos it looked like they were no longer in business (lots of buzz around 2014-2015 and then it all went quiet). However, there was a news article about them in Feb 2018 announcing that although their older computers are now out of stock, they do plan to launch a new laptop later in 2018:
https://businessandfinance.com/ones-watch-iameco/
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