"애플도 삼성처럼..." 온라인 청원 잇따라

Published : May 5, 2013 - 17:47 Updated : May 5, 2013 - 18:42

한 국제환경단체가 애플과 삼성에 아동노동 착취와 환경 문제를 낳고 있는 인도네시아의 광산에서 채취된 주석 사용 여부 확인을 촉구함에 따라 삼성은 이를 인정한 반면 애플은 묵묵부답으로 대응하고 있어 애플에 대한 온라인 청원 운동이 거세지고 있다.

환경단체 지구의 벗(Friends of the Earth)은 "애플이 인도네시아 방카섬에서 생산되는 주석을 쓰는 것이 거의 확실하지만 이에 대한 대답을 거부하고 있다."라는 내용을 담은 온라인 청원 웹페이지를 개설했으며 5일 현재 약 2만 여명이 애플 측에 항의 메일을 보냈다.

주석은 스마트폰과 태블릿 PC를 포함한 전자기기의 저항기, 트랜지스터와 회로기판을 연결에 쓰인다.

한편, 삼성은 지난달 지구의 벗과 삼성 고객들에게 이메일을 통해 "방카섬에 직접적으로 (주석을) 공급받는 업체는 없으나, 제품 공정에서 쓰이는 주석 일부가 해당 지역에서 생산됐음을 인지하고 있다."라고 밝혔으며 공급사와 정부, 업체와 함께 해결방안을 모색하겠다고 전했다.

지구의 벗 정책 및 캠페인 디렉터 크레이그 베닛은 "삼성이 인도네시아의 주석 광산의 공급망을 조사 하는 등 (관련 문제에 대해) 업계를 선도하는 것과 전자기기에 쓰이는 주석이 사람과 환경에 미치는 파괴적인 영향력 해결을 위해 책임을 자세는 매우 반가운 일이다."라고 말했다. 그는 또 "애플도 삼성처럼 공급망을 투명하게 해야 할 시기이다."라고 덧붙였다.

지구의 벗은 2012년 영국의 일간지 가디언과의 공동 조사를 통해 방카섬의 주석 광산이 열대림, 산호초 파괴를 야기함과 동시에 연간 약 150명의 광부가 주석을 채취하다가 사망했으며 아동들은 이 광산에서 노동력을 착취당하고 있다고 발표한 바 있다.

(코리아헤럴드 박한나 기자)

<영문 기사>

Apple slammed for environmental exploitation

By Park Han-na

The rivalry between Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc. was brought to the fore once again after an international organization slammed both tech giants on antienvironmental labor practices.

According to Friends of the Earth, an international environmental group, Apple is still mum on the issue of using tin mined from Indonesia, whereas Samsung has already responded by saying it will address the issue as soon as it can.

“Apple has refused to answer its own customers’ questions about Bangka -- even though Apple almost certainly uses the island’s tin,” the online petition stated.

Bangka is the Indonesian island where the tin comes from.

Samsung, on the other hand, has admitted to the usage and said via an email sent to the group that it was committed to addressing the problem.

“While we do not have a direct relationship with tin suppliers from Bangka Island, we do know that some of the tin that we use for manufacturing our products does originate from this area,” Samsung wrote in a publicized email.

The Seoul-based company also said it is contacting suppliers, industrial bodies and government to search for solutions.

“It’s great Samsung has taken an industry lead by tracking its supply chains all the way to Indonesia’s tin mines and committing to taking responsibility for helping tackle the devastating impact that mining tin for electronics has on people and the environment,” Craig Bennett, the group’s Director of Policy and Campaigns, said in a statement.

“Rival Apple is already playing catch-up on the high street in terms of smartphone sales -- it’s time it followed Samsung’s lead by coming clean about its whole supply chains too,” he said.

Friends of the Earth claims that unregulated tin mining at Bangka is linked to child labor and is possibly a cause of extensive environmental damage by destroying tropical forests and coral reefs. The practice also allegedly kills 150 miners a year, according to an investigation jointly conducted by the group and the Guardian.

Tin is a vital component in all electronic gadgets, including smartphones and tablets, for the solder that holds together resistors, transistors and circuit boards.

International organizations have grown increasingly concerned about such anti-fair trade issues, including the exploitation of child labor and the environmental damage caused by commercial activity.

Last year, Friends of the Earth launched an online petition urging Apple and Samsung to stop using the tin. When there was no response from Apple, the group issued another petition signed by some 20,000 consumers as of Sunday.

The group previously launched a campaign called “Make It Better” backed by some 15,000 individuals in November last year, calling for new rules to the top smartphone makers and to be transparent with its supply chains.

(hnpark@heraldcorp.com)