Story of Electronics

Posted by Martin Koser on 5. December 2010; This entry is filed under Business Models et al., Design and more, Innovation et al..
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Well, yes, it’s an externalizing costs system with little or no long-term sustainability – some business model innovation ideas are expressed, alongside regulatory ideas and call for actions.

  1. Ted Smith December 6th, 2010 at 19:40

    This film is a compelling call to action for a more sustainable business model! My favorite parts that make the case:

    You see, the companies they work for keep these human and environmental costs out of sight and off their accounting books. It’s all about externalizing the true costs of production. Instead of companies paying to make their facilities safe the workers pay with their health. Instead of them paying to redesign using less toxics villagers pay by losing their clean drinking water. Externalizing costs allows companies to keep designing for the dump – they get the profits and everyone else pays.

    It’s time to get these brainiacs working on our side. With takeback laws and citizen action to demand greener products, we are starting a race to the top, where designers compete to make long-lasting, toxic-free products. So, let’s have a green Moore’s law. How about: the use of toxic chemicals will be cut in half every 18 months? The number of workers poisoned will decline at an even faster rate?

    But the truth is: we are never going to just shop our way out of this problem because the choices available to us at the store are limited by choices of designers and policymakers outside of the store. That’s why we need to join with others to demand stronger laws on toxic chemicals and on banning e-waste exports.

    See http://www.electronicstakeback.com/home/ to take action.
    See http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1788_reg.html for more information on the unsustainable practices of the electroincs industry.

    Ted Smith, Chair
    Electronics TakeBack Coalition