Are iPhones the Next Blood Diamonds?

            Around the impoverished villages near Lake Kivu in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), you can still see evidence of the boom. Makeshift mines dot the countryside there, constant reminders of a once desperate search for a metallic ore called coltan.  

            None of the coltan stayed in the country of course. It was funneled out onto the global market, where it is a key component in the production of computers, cell phones, video game consoles and a host of other electronics.

            All around the world, from offices in Tokyo to basements in Toronto, Congolese coltan can be found in the devices we use every day. Few know it’s there, even fewer know where it comes from.   

            But back in the DRC, coltan is murder.

            From 1998 to 2003, half a dozen African countries and more than 25 rebel groups fought bitterly for control of the country’s coltan mines. Known as Africa’s World War, the battle killed more than five million people.

            Villagers were kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to dig. Children were enslaved and women were raped by the thousands, all in the pursuit of coltan.

            Armies and rebels lucky enough to find some were greeted with open arms by Western companies looking to profit from the worldwide electronics industry.

There was, after all, money to be made. As the world eagerly awaited the 2000 release of Sony’s Playstation 2, for example, the price of coltan spiked from $44 a pound to $275 a pound.

            Those numbers suited the warring factions just fine because it meant more money for weapons and more incentive to control the mines. In 1999 alone, the Rwandan army—a central figure in the DRC’s war—made a staggering $250 million from coltan.

Playstation 2, meanwhile, went on to become the world’s best-selling game console.

At the height of war, the United Nations released a damning report linking our coltan consumption to the DRC’s plight. It detailed how armies and rebels fought and killed to supply our demand.

The report went even further, naming specific American and European mining companies that were either complacent in the killings or directly guilty of partnering with the rebels.

Nothing ever came of the allegations though, as alleged diplomatic pressure forced the UN to bury the report. Greed, it seemed, was excusable as long as it was profitable. The story of coltan was forgotten.

If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Coltan is just one in a long list of natural resources pillaged from developing countries for our own consumption. Western demand for diamonds, gold and oil have all left a trail of despair in their path.

            Little seems to have changed since the days of Africa’s World War—including our indifference to the plight of those who supply our goods.

            In the DRC, some 45,000 people still die every single month from hunger and disease. The price of coltan may have dropped to pre-war levels, but people there are still suffering.

            What’s worse is that it’s only a matter of time until the Congolese feel the wrath of our greed once again. When the next big technological innovation hits—perhaps a new iPhone or Nintendo Wii— and our coltan supply dwindles, the West will once again look to Africa, where most of the world’s coltan remains.   

            At the end of the Congolese war, just 15 per cent at the global population had a cell phone subscription. Today that number tops 60 per cent. Massive markets are opening up in China and India, where millions more people are buying record numbers of electronic goods.

            For those still reeling from the first coltan boom, this is a ticking time bomb.

            No one would ever suggest that we boycott electronic goods, nor is it fair to blame the average consumer for Africa’s plight. But without a strict regulatory system similar to the one that now targets blood diamonds, coltan will once again make war and death profitable.

            Beyond that, we need a shift in focus away from the shameful pursuit of profit that drove our companies to partner with bloodthirsty rebels. If the recent global recession taught us the economic consequences of greed, then coltan and the DRC should teach us the consequences on human life.

            Perhaps then, mass murder in Africa would spark the kind of outrage that faulty mortgages seemed to.

             

            

When is "Fair Trade" Really Fair Trade?

In grocery stores and shopping malls across the country, products of every kind are competing for your conscience.

            From coffee to fruit, clothing to flowers, companies now offer shoppers an array of socially conscious choices. Labeling their products “ethical” or “fair trade,” they hope to entice you with promises of environmentally responsible manufacturing and worker-friendly production.

            But how can you be sure these products are living up to their claims? With so many fair trade labels making so many promises, the selection can be daunting.

            In Canada, there are no national regulations to determine when a company can label its products fair trade. That means there is nothing to stop a company that pollutes the environment or uses child labour from calling itself ethical, just to make a sale.

            As a result, the market has become swamped, leaving well-meaning consumers to separate fair trade fact from fiction.

            “I feel bad for the average consumer,” says Gavin Fridell, author of Fair Trade Coffee: The Prospects and Pitfalls of Market Driven Social Justice. “It’s hard to have a fair trade market when everything out there is claiming to be ethical.”

            There’s no doubt Canadians are a responsible bunch, but finding products where fair trade is more than just a marketing angle can be challenging. In 2006, more than 450 tonnes of fair trade-labeled coffee sold in Canada was not actually certified – meaning it’s impossible to know how ethical it actually was.

            The trick, Fridell says, is to look for products that are officially certified and labeled by independent fair trade organizations, like TransFair Canada.

            “If you want the gold standard of ethical certification, it’s the TransFair label,” he says.

            TransFair Canada has been certifying fair trade products since 1997. It’s part of an elaborate system of international organizations that monitor every step of a product’s life, from production to packaging, to ensure it complies with global fair trade standards.

            Products that bear TransFair’s distinctive black-and-white label (or the blue, black and green label of its international counterpart) must meet strict guidelines relating to environmental protection, workers’ rights and community development.

            “Fair trade seeks to change the terms of trade for the products we buy – to ensure the farmers and artisans behind those products get a better deal,” explains TransFair’s website.

            TransFair-labeled coffee, chocolate, wine and other products can be found in stores across the country. In fact, more than 240 companies are registered with Transfair – up from just 30 a decade ago.

            Another label to look for belongs to the World Fair Trade Organization, which certifies co-ops, retailers and others that are committed to ethical production. It adheres to “10 Standards of Fair Trade” and offers its multi-coloured label only to those that meet its standards.

            More than 320 organizations are registered with the World Fair Trade Organization, including the retailer Ten Thousand Villages, which has 50 stores in Canada.

            Of course, if a product or company doesn’t have one of these labels, that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t fair trade. Official certification can be costly, making it difficult for some small businesses to obtain.

            The best advice is to do your research to ensure the products you buy meet your ethical standards. Definitions of fair trade vary, so be sure you are comfortable with what you are buying. Don’t be afraid to call a company and ask about its fair trade policy.

            If a company isn’t certified, it should have a good reason. And it should be very clear about exactly what its fair trade claims include and how they are verified. It is possible, after all, for a company to be environmentally friendly yet have poor labour standards.

            For Fridell, local, independently run retailers are often the best sources of fair trade products. “You get a much broader sense of the authenticity of what you are buying,” he says.

            So the next time you’re in the market for something fair trade, remember that not all ethical claims are misleading. There are plenty of products on store shelves that meet high standards of responsible production.

            You just have to know how to find them.