How Environmentally Safe is Your iPhone?

Apple is one of the most secretive companies you’ll ever deal with. Even when they’re about to release a product or report good news, they seem to have a vacuum seal applied to the lips of their employees. This seems to be the case with a piece of less desirable news regarding the eco-friendliness of the iPhone.

U.K. carrier, O2, showed off their “Green Rankings” which show the British consumers which phone hurts the environment least. Sony Ericsson and Nokia lead the way while the Palm Pre Plus bottomed out the ridiculous chart. Where did the iPhone rank? It didn’t. Apple chose to keep the iPhone out of the research..

The actual document from O2 seems to be of the phantom type but The Guardian has all the figures pertaining to the study that Apple opted to keep the iPhone out of. When asked why Cupertino didn’t find it necessary to offer up the necessary details surrounding the phone, their spokesman offered no comment other than directing those curious of the related figures to their online environmental report.

The iPhone is by far the most popular smartphone in the British Isles. The Jesus Phone holds an amazing 64% of the territory’s market share. This just goes to show you how little of an impact the NGO made when it claimed the iPhone wasn’t eco-friendly.

Fast Company does a good job showing the questionable validity of this particular study. Without citing specific sources of just how the data was collected, I find it difficult to subscribe to the idea that every component was considered. I don’t believe the Chinese just handed over their production reports to O2, do you?

I know very little about how eco-friendly a cellphone can be. However I know enough about people to tell you that there are some things that consumers don’t care about. The ecological effects of a particular cellphone is one of those things and the iPhone’s sales figures prove me right.

Do you think Apple should have allowed the iPhone to be a part of this first-time study, or is it best to hold your cards close when you know the purpose of a report is to crucify your reputation? Can you honestly say that you’ve ever taken eco-friendliness into account when going out to buy any electronic, specifically your iPhone? Leave your carbon footprint in the waste management section known as the comment box below.