Day 78: Apple and the Environment?

So, this is going to be unlike my usual posts where I write about some sort of lifestyle change that we can make to benefit the environment and reduce our carbon foot-print. Today, I am going to write about Apple's new environmental initiative and ask for your opinion.

Apple now has an "environment" tab on their website that highlights the environmental benefits of their products, which I suppose is a step in the right direction. As much as I preach living simply, there is a time when we do have to buy new things.

Here is a link to the environment tab for the macbook pro where they highlight their minimized packaging (reduce by 41%), minimized waste materials, efficiency, free recycling of your computer (if you live in the US, that is), their Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (or EPEAT) Gold standard, reducing of harmful chemicals like Arsenic and PVC and their Energy Star qualification.

If you click on a particular model, they even outline the greenhouse gas emissions for your product. This covers a complete life cycle analysis of the product including production, transport, use and eventual disposal by recycling. They have a chart listing the computers various settings and its energy consumption in every mode.

My favorite is the free recycling of old computers, and I hope that they expand this to other countries as well. I always think about how different the world would be if manufacturers were forced to dispose of their products in a sustainable way after clients were finished with them. I bet a whole lot more emphasis would be put on modularity, using recyclable materials and sustainable practices.

Apples also no longer provides printed user-manuals for ipods etc., instead this information is available online -which reduces paper usage and weight to increase shipping efficiency.

So, I am not trying to advertise Apple, but I feel like they are taking a step in the right direction and I hope other electronic manufacturers will begin taking the environment into consideration.

What do you think? Does this disclosure of information make you more prone to purchasing from this manufacturer? are you impartial? Or do you think this is green-wash?