
Last month, Apple took a big step towards becoming environmentally-friendly by eliminating Brominated Flame Retardant (BFR) and polyvinylchloride (PVR) from its iPods. Now the company is taking another huge step with its notebook computers.
Apple announced today that all new MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air will be PVC and BFR-free. And if you think those chemicals aren’t a big deal, well, they are. PVCs release dioxin, a known carcinogen, and BFRs are reproductive and developmental neurotoxins that build up over time in the human body. The substances put workers and recyclers at risk during the production and discarding of products.
A large portion of the credit for Apple’s announcement goes to the Greenpeace Green My Apple campaign, which calls on Apple fans to encourage the company to remove toxic substances from its electronics.
Now it’s up to consumers to pressure companies like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Toshiba to follow Apple’s lead in making computers less toxic.
Photo Credit: Greenpeace
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