In the previous article, we explored the complex globalized supply chain network of U.S. consumer electronics products. This system incorporates everything from sourcing raw materials to manufacturing electronics products, and then delivery and selling to the consumers. With each coming day, the demand for consumer electronics is increasing, pushing big companies to manufacture more products. However, this expansion comes with significant environmental costs. The manufacturing, usage, and disposal of electronics contribute to huge environmental problems. Companies are trying to adopt sustainable solutions and circular economic methodologies, however, there are many failures and uncovered facts. The hidden failures in consumer electronics sustainability, supply chain, and circular economy are causing severe environmental challenges and ethical concerns. While companies claim sustainability to meet consumer needs, many manufacturing processes and business methodologies contradict circularity and ethical responsibility. These failures include unethical sources of raw materials, forced labor issues, e-waste, lack of recycling techniques, and planned obsolescence. This article uncovers these hidden failures and false claims.
Hidden Failures in the Sustainable Supply Chain of Consumer Electronics:
The consumer electronics industry promotes and claims sustainability; however, the supply chain tells a different story. Here are a few hidden failures in consumer electronics sustainability, supply chain, and circularity.
Greenwashing in Consumer Electronics:
Greenwashing refers to false claims from companies when they market themselves as sustainable and environmentally friendly while making no significant changes to their operations. Many electronics brands market themselves as environmentally sustainable but fail to meet their goals and commitments.
Circularise reports that Samsung promised to shift all their global operations to 100% renewable energy by 2020, however, only 20% of their operations are currently using green energy sources. The rest of the 80% are still relying on electricity generated by burning fossil fuels. Other than this, Samsung also failed to transparently dispose of around 4.3 million units of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. These cell phones had battery defects that caused some units to overheat and catch fire. Samsung recalled these 4.3 million units but failed to dispose of them with transparency. Circularise says that a German institute estimates that these 4.3 million units contained more than 1 ton of tungsten, 1 ton of silver, 20 metric tons of cobalt, and 20 to 60 kilograms of palladium.
In the case of Apple, a big giant in the tech and electronics industry, it is taking advantage of carbon offsetting instead of fully reducing carbon emissions. A report by Planet Earth and Beyond outlines that Apple advertised the case and band combinations of Apple Watch Series 9, Ultra 2, and SE as fully carbon-neutral. Apple claimed that it made the watch carbon neutral by reducing emissions from the whole supply chain and manufacturing process. It further said that remaining pollution or carbon emissions would be offset by initiatives like restoring forests and increasing carbon sinks. Moreover, Apple will offset the electricity used to charge these watches by buying carbon credits and funding renewable energy projects.
Planet Earth and Beyond calls this carbon-offsetting greenwashing. This offsetting works in theory, not in practice, because it is incredibly difficult and dubious to calculate the carbon stored in the atmosphere. This makes buying carbon credits linked to any operations or manufacturing not verifiable or reliable. Moreover, these forests (funded by carbon credits) are not capable of storing all the carbon emissions. Finally, these carbon sinks are always vulnerable to natural disasters like wildfires, making them more threatening to the atmosphere.
High Carbon Footprint of Electronics Production:
It requires a significant amount of energy, from extracting raw materials to manufacturing and delivering consumer electronics. An analysis by frontiersin.org claims that the carbon emission from cell phones increased from 17 megatons to 125 megatons of CO2 equivalent between 2010 and 2020. Moreover, one of the reports outlines that these emissions from cell phones, computers, and data centers could increase from 1% in 2007 to over 14% in 2040. Many consumer electronics brands claim to reduce carbon emissions but outsource manufacturing and supply chains to countries with weak regulations. This allows them to overlook environmental impacts in their operations while exaggerating their sustainability commitments.
Consumer Electronics vs The Circular Economy Promises:
E-Waste Recycling Failures:
E-waste is a short form of electronic waste that comes from discarded or obsolete consumer electronics products. Rapid innovations and frequent updates in technology devices are making still-functional devices obsolete. These devices ultimately become a part of E-waste.
E-waste is one of the world’s growing problems with significant health and environmental consequences. The dilemma is that technology companies are exponentially producing new devices but merely recycling the e-waste. According to the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) report, a record of 62 million tonnes (Mt) of e-waste was produced in 2022. This is 82% higher than the e-waste produced in 2010. It further estimates that this e-waste will increase to 82 million tonnes in 2030. The report further compares these 62 million tonnes of waste with trucks capable of loading 40 tonnes of waste. It says that around 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks are required to fill this amount of waste. Further, if these trucks parked bumper-to-bumper on the equator line, they are roughly enough to encircle the whole equator.
Despite growing e-waste volumes, only 22% was officially collected and recycled in 2022. The remaining 78% ended up in landfills, contributing to the leaching of toxic substances that threaten both human health and ecosystem integrity.
Planned Obsolescence and the Right to Repair:
Many technology manufacturers purposely design devices with non-replaceable batteries and software restrictions that force consumers to replace the old devices with new ones. This is called planned obsolescence. The question here is where do the old devices go? Obviously, consumers dump such forcefully obsolete devices at recycling stations.
A notable example is the lawsuit brought by the French tech advocacy group HOP, which alleges that Apple deliberately obstructed its repair program. According to the report, the Paris Prosecutor’s Office is investigating Apple over claims of planned obsolescence. The company is accused of deliberately making its devices outdated to force upgrades. The complaint focuses on “serialization.” This process links spare parts, like microchips and speakers, to specific iPhone models. As a result, third-party repairers cannot use generic parts, forcing consumers to buy the latest iPhone models.
In another case reported by the Guardian, Italy fined Apple €10m and Samsung €5m for “planned obsolescence.” An investigation found software updates slowed older phones, pushing users to upgrade. This was the first ruling of its kind against smartphone makers. The watchdog called the updates a dishonest practice that harmed performance.
Business Ethics & Environmental Injustice Issues in Consumer Electronics Industry:
Unethical Sourcing and Forced Labor Issues:
The manufacturing and supply chain of consumer electronics heavily relies on raw materials like cobalt and lithium. Amnesty International report says that 50% of the world’s cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Huayou Cobalt is one of the largest cobalt subsidiaries in DRC, which gets 40% of the cobalt from the country. Huayou Cobalt further sells cobalt to three manufacturers in China and South Korea who claim to provide technologies to car and electronics companies like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and Sony.
In 2014, approximately 40,000 children were working in the cobalt mines in the DRC. The children worked for 12 hours a day, mining cobalt and carrying heavy loads to earn just one or two dollars a day. The miners face long-term health damage. Amnesty International says that between 2014 and 2015, at least 80 artisanal miners died in the southern parts of Congo. These workers work without basic protective equipment like gloves, work clothes, masks, and safety shoes. In 2019, big tech companies like Apple, Dell, Tesla, Microsoft, and Google were sued by Congolese families for killing or maiming their children with cobalt used to power electric cars, smartphones, laptops, and other consumer electronics. Such examples and cases highlight the consumer electronics industry’s failure to comply with ethical mining and labor standards.
Life & Death in Apple’s Major Manufacturer, Foxconn:
Foxconn, one of the largest manufacturers of electronics, has a significant presence in China. This company manufactures iPhones and other products for Apple and other tech companies. In the past, Foxconn faced multiple scandals, primarily related to labor conditions and harsh working environments. The Guardian reports that there were 18 reported suicide attempts at Foxconn in 2010. 14 out of 18 were confirmed deaths. Instead of improving the labor conditions, Foxconn installed large nets outside many buildings to catch the falling bodies. Also, the company hired counselors, and workers were forced to sign pledges not to attempt suicide. This created further unease and anger in the masses about the Foxconn company.
Environmental Injustice and E-Waste Dumping:
The consumption of modern electronics is concentrated in wealthier nations, yet a significant portion of the resulting e-waste is shipped to and processed in developing countries. Workers in poor countries dismantle electronic products while using unsafe and risky methods. Such unsafe recycling practices expose workers to toxic materials like lead, mercury, and cadmium.
According to the report by PBS News, the United States of America sends approximately 50,000 dump trucks worth of electronics to recyclers each year. The same report talks about the investigation designed to track America’s electronic waste. The investigation included installing 200 geolocating tracking devices inside the old TVs, computers, and printers, and then dropping them off nationwide at recycling stations, that claim themselves green, sustainable, earth-friendly, and many more names. The investigation concluded by finding a third of the tracked electronics in countries 12,000 miles away from the USA. The countries where the tracked electronics ended up were Taiwan, China, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Canada.
In 2018, China banned the imports of e-waste, leading to an increase in illegal dumping into other countries in Africa and South Asia. These illegal dumping and recycling failures unjustifiably harm the environment and human health.
Conclusion:
The hidden failures in consumer electronics sustainability, supply chain, and circular economy reveal a broken system. Greenwashing, unethical labor, poor waste management, and planned obsolescence weaken sustainability efforts. Past issues like Apple’s planned obsolescence fines and Samsung’s failure to properly dispose of Galaxy Note 7 show the need for change in operations. Stronger regulations, ethical sourcing, and repairable products can improve sustainability and circularity. Moreover, transparency and accountability in operations are reporting are key to achieving a true circular economy.
Have any questions or want to know more about hidden failures in consumer electronics sustainability? Please reach out to the COBE Ethics Chair at COBEEthics@boisestate.edu. Explore the College of Business and Economics (COBE) website to learn more about undergraduate and graduate degree programs in economics and supply chain management.