I am just in the process of organizing my journals so that i can tell you what process i have gone through thus far in my quest for a conflict free laptop, a laptop that doesn’t fuel a war or support human rights violations. this struggle has so far been going on for almost 6 months– several letters, phone calls, emails, and research and I am no where near finding a conflict free laptop for myself. i have promised myself i will not get one until i can find a completely conflict free brand.
i have been told by many that they have “ethical purchasing policies”– but none have so far been really able to tell me what that means in any full details. it’s incredibly frustrating to me. one company that told me that they have “ethical purchasing policies”– turned out to have a supplier who has admitted publicly that they don’t know where their cobalt and coltan comes from and that it was possible that their product was sourced in the conflict zones of the Congo. seems contradictory to me? Most of those i was able to contact however, wouldn’t give me the names of their suppliers, for competition reasons. this makes it impossible to track and verify. i have yet to receive replies from many. and no body yet exists to monitor these atrocities… so how do we know?
i’ve always told myself that i’m a good person. but i feel guilty every single day for the luxuries i have. so i decided to stop buying. i tried very hard to cut down my spending, cut out the excesses and live more simply. violence-free. but i have a long way to go. i am getting closer every day. that type of life isn’t for everyone, but something must change in the way we consume.
the more i try to find out where things come from– the more i find out just how unaware we are of how we affect the rest of the world. we are each just one person- but together we have a real voice. if we make our voice known, maybe this violence can stop and companies will stop using conflict resources.
write to the brands that you use and ask them where their products come from. who is affected by them? demand they stop using conflict resources. this is the only way it will ever change.
–RS
