The aim of Knowmore.org is to raise awareness of corporate abuse, and to serve as a catalyst for direct action against corporate power.

Ethical Consumerism is an important movement toward corporate reform, through which individuals recognize their own role in systems of oppression, and take personal steps toward resistance and  positive change.

However, the problem of unchecked corporate power is systemic and goes far beyond the scope of any single boycot or campaign.

Once you've seen enough of Knowmore's data and familiarized yourself with our Issues section, check out our Direct Action page to get involved!

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[edit] Current Campaigns

• A Greener Apple! According to Greenpeace, Apple products made with toxic chemicals (such as flame retardants and polyvinyl chloride) are being sold worldwide. When discarded, they typically end up in the hands of children in China, India and other developing countries. They dismantle the products for parts and are exposed to dangerous toxins that threatens their health and the environment. Take action now to get Apple to go green.

• Computer TakeBack Campaign The Computer TakeBack Campaign (CTBC) is an international effort by a coalition of 16 top environmental groups to address the growing problem of computer e-waste. As an industry leader, Apple Computer has been the prime target of this campaign to make corporations responsible for the toxic waste they are generating in the U.S. and around the world, particularly in China and India where tons of computer waste is shipped. Currently only about ten percent of discarded computers are recycled and almost 80 percent of that waste is processed overseas where chemicals and heavy metals in the computers poison people and the environment. The campaign recently acheived some success as Apple announced plans to offer free takeback and recycling of its products. Yet Apple still has work to do. On its 2005 Report Card, CTBC gave Apple a score of 36 percent after analyzing the company on its social and environmental impacts of their production, as well as the disposal of computer equipment.

[edit] Criticism

[edit] Environmental Concerns

• Computer TakeBack Campaign More than 70 environmental groups have signed a letter to former Vice President Al Gore, who sits on the board of Apple, asking him to push the company to become more sustainable. Environmentalists express surprise that as America’s best-known environmental advocate, Gore would oppose shareholder resolutions—which Apple claims were unanimously voted against—asking Apple to become greener.

• E-waste Hall of Shame Apple Computer Inc. was one of the companies included in Greenpeace International’s “E-waste Hall of Shame.” Greenpeace International discovered Apple products in their visit to a Chinese scrap yard. Apple, along with IBM, Panasonic, Toshiba, and Acer, has not committed to remove chemicals from products or be responsible for the safe recycling and responsible disposal of their products.

• Guide to Greener Electronics Greenpeace, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental advocacy group, released its annual “Guide to Greener Electronics” as part of an effort to encourage electronics companies to “clean up their act.” The Guide ranks 14 of the leading computer and mobile technology companies on a scale of one to 10 based on criteria relating to recycling, phase out of toxic chemicals and corporate responsibility issues. Apple was dead last scoring 2.7, almost a full point behind the next lowest company, Panasonic.

• Exporting Re-use and Abuse to Africa Basel Action Network’s (BAN)--a Seattle-based international network of activists seeking to prevent the globalization of the toxic chemical crisis--report entitled “The Digital Dump: Exporting Re-use and Abuse to Africa,” examines the current downside to the information technology growth in the industrialized world, focusing on the environmental ramifications in Lagos, Nigeria. The study demonstrates how Nigeria, representative of developing nations, has disproportionately carried the burden of toxic cyber waste. The formal and informal dumps have leached dangerous toxins, such as dioxins, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals, into the air and groundwater. Apple products were among those found “washed up” on the West African import market.

• iWaste More Info According to the Computer Take Back Campaign, Apple's iPod digital music player contains toxic products such as "lead and other harmful chemicals that are associated with infertility and brain damage." The organization contends that iPod's batteries are difficult to replace and Apple offers only limited options for consumers to recycle the batteries.

[edit] Business Ethics

• iPhone ad rapped as 'misleading' The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that an advert featuring Apple's iPhone is deliberately misleading. During the ad, the iPhone is triumphed as being synonymous with the more common PC web browsing experience, saying "all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone." The iPhone, however, does not support Adobe's Flash or Sun Microsystems Java platforms, two growing forces on the web. Flash, for example, powers the hugely popular Youtube video player. Apple said it did not want to comment on the ruling.

• iPod Suit Apple Computer was the target of five class-action lawsuits based on accusations that the company’s iPod did not perform as promoted. Plaintiffs in the suit claim that the battery life of the iPod did not last as long as advertised, and are suing Apple on the grounds of false advertising, fraudulent concealment and breach of warranty. Apple Computer offered a settlement of $50 vouchers and extended service warranties.

• Mac sellers say computer maker cuts them out in favor of its outlets Several computer retailers that sell Mac computers filed lawsuits against Apple alleging that the company was unfairly pushing customers to patronize Apple-owned outlets. Plaintiffs argue that the claim is evidenced by ongoing problems with billing systems and service. Tom Santos of San Francisco brought forth a multimillion-dollar lawsuit accusing the computer company of unfair competition, fraud, false advertising, breach of contract and violating the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

• Worst Boards In 2002, BusinessWeek named Apple Computer as having one of the worst board of directors. The magazine cited interlocking directorship--Steve Jobs sits on the board of directors for the Gap and the Gap CEO sits on Apple's board--and the fact that the CEO of Micro Warehouse, which accounted for nearly 2.9 percent of Apple's net sales in 2001, sits on the company's compensation committee. The magazine used criteria such as board independence and stock ownership for the listing.

• Apple Computer facing $40M discrimination lawsuit Former Apple employee, Dan Riccio, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the corporation in October of 2001. Riccio claimed that he was overlooked for promotions, denied stock options, and kept segregated from white colleagues because he is African American. According to Riccio, Apple suspended and ultimately fired him for having a guest with him on the Apple campus, which had never been a problem when done by his white co-workers.

• Apple forced to drop iPhone ad After releasing an ad boasting a "really fast" 3G iPhone model, Apple has been forced to drop the advert. The ASA backed compliments from 17 consumers who claimed the ad was misleading as to the speed of the device. The ruling stated that the ad could not be shown in the same form again. [1]

[edit] Workers Rights

• Apple admits excessive iPod hours Upon investigation, Apple Computer found that their suppliers in China have been violating the company’s supplier code of conduct. Apple reported regular workweeks in manufacturing facilities in excess of 60 hours and workers labored more than six consecutive days 25 percent of the time. However, the company found “no evidence of forced labor” or use of child workers. Janek Kuczkiewicz, director of human and trade union rights at the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), said he was unimpressed by the report: “Apple interviewed just 100 people out of the estimated 30,000 iPod workers.”

• Justice for Janitors Campaign The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) staged a hunger strike at the Apple Computer headquarters in California to protest the treatment of its contracted janitorial workers. Apple became a prime target for the "Justice for Janitors" campaign because of its contract with Shine Building Maintenance, Inc., which allegedly exploited its workers by paying them wages below the federal minimum, requiring workers to function under exploitative conditions, and offering negligible health benefits. The SEIU claimed that most of Shine’s workers were Latin and Asian immigrant female immigrants, and the union argued that Apple should extend its "progressive and enlightened" employee policies to improve the lives of its contracted workers as well.

[edit] Praise

[edit] Environmental Concerns

• A Greener Apple! Apple CEO Steve Jobs posted an open letter on his company's Web site in response to the environmental criticism leveled at Apple in which he details the company's plans for removing many harmful chemicals from its products and increasing recycling.

[edit] Brands & Subsidiaries

• MobileMe, Mac OS X, QuickTime Player, QuickTime Pro, Safari, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, AppleCare, Apple TV (previously iTV).
• Wi-Fi Base Stations: Airport Express, Airport Extreme, Time Capsule.

• Servers: Xserve, Xsan, Mac OS X Server.

• Apple Accessories: Mac Keyboard, Mighty Mouse, LED Cinema Display.

• Macintosh Computers (Macs): Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air,iMac.

• Applications: iLife, iWork, Aperture, Final Cut Studio, Server & Express, Logic Studio, Logic Express, Remote Desktop.

[edit] Competitors

Acer, Dell, Gateway, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard (HP), IBM, Microsoft, Sanyo, Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp.