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Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner sat down with Dua Lipa for a uncommon podcast interview on her present “Dua Lipa: At Your Service.” The pair coated a variety of subjects, however the one which’s drawn listeners’ consideration is Lipa being the primary to publicly ask Prepare dinner about using baby labor to mine cobalt for “my new iPhone 15,” a query the CEO was keen to reply… sort of.
Lipa stated, “I got here throughout some, like, I assume distressing articles about younger youngsters mining cobalt within the Democratic Republic of Congo. And I assume it’s an advanced challenge for all tech firms, however, I assume what I used to be questioning is, my new iPhone 15 … are you able to assure that the cobalt in that cellphone has not been mined utilizing baby labor within the DRC?”
“Sure, we are able to,” Prepare dinner stated. “As a result of we do two issues. Properly, to begin with, I ought to again up and say our goal over time is to take nothing from the earth to make our merchandise.”
He added, “It is a huge thought of not having to mine something, is to make use of all recycled materials, and immediately we’re utilizing 100% recycled cobalt within the watch and 100% recycled gold, tin, tungsten, and different rare-earth supplies within the watch. So we’re actually, we’re actually pleased with this.
“However for these merchandise that we nonetheless do mine, for a few of our different merchandise, we now have an intense degree of tracing in our provide chain all the best way again to the mine and the smelter to guarantee that the labor used will not be baby labor.
“I believe we do a very good job of that,” he concluded.
Not everybody purchased Prepare dinner’s reply. Quite a few Redditors took to the positioning to debate the query, with many concluding that it’s seemingly all the interview was meant as constructive PR for Apple with Lipa’s questions permitted forward of time.
As one particular person put it, “I’m glad they’re now beginning to use 100% recycled mined supplies however I’m skeptical of him saying that the merchandise that do want these supplies aren’t mined by youngsters. It could possibly be some sort of technicality the place it’s not youngsters however nonetheless horrific for the miners.”
One other replied, “The reply is definitely some type of ‘We at Apple don’t run the mines. You’ll must ask the mining firm CEO.’”
Using baby labor has been a difficulty Apple has wrestled with earlier than. In December 2020, The Data reported that considered one of Apple’s companions, Suyin Electronics, relied on baby labor repeatedly to provide Apple merchandise. Apple was stated to have came upon concerning the observe in 2013 and continued to work with the corporate for 3 years.
In December 2019, Apple was considered one of a number of tech firms accused of being complicit within the deaths of a number of youngsters who died after working in mines within the DRC. The opposite defendants had been Google, Tesla, Alphabet, Dell and Microsoft. The lawsuit accused the businesses of “knowingly benefiting from and aiding and abetting the merciless and brutal use of younger youngsters in Democratic Republic of Congo (‘DRC’) to mine cobalt.”
As Lipa fairly particularly requested, Prepare dinner’s reply pertained to her new iPhone — not essentially different Apple merchandise, significantly those who got here earlier than.
Of their almost 45-minute-long chat, the pair additionally mentioned Prepare dinner’s childhood in Alabama, the affect the late Steve Jobs nonetheless has on the corporate and extra. You’ll be able to watch the total interview on the prime of this story.
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