£4·25 181 Nov/Dec 2019 www.ethicalconsumer.org hich brans are linke to the maon fires? P is? How your IT SHOPPING GUIDES TO l Laptops l Desktops l Mobile Phones l Mobile Phone Networks Go Hemp... NEW Hi Top Hemp (Black/Silver) High top version of our classic Veg Supreme Sneaker. Made from highly breathable hemp canvas. With Vegetan uppers , toe and heel panels. (80% Bio-degradable) 3Gorgeous Hemp Uppers 3Rubber & Cork Soles 3Grey & Black Laces 3Made in EU more Hemp-based footwear... Panther feelgood windows Hemp Spider XT Hemp Enjoy the comfort and energy efficiency of triple glazed timber windows and doors ® Options to Veg Supreme Hemp Lo Top suit all budgets Quality Over 200 ‘breathable’ mens & vegshoes.com non-leather Friendly personal service and technical support 01273 691913 materials made womens in England from the low energy and Passivhaus experts styles! [email protected] & Europe www.greenbuildingstore.co.uk A TREAT FOR YOUR FEET IF YOU DON’T EAT MEAT! t: 01484 461705 Ethical consumer 91x277 ad 0919.indd 1 27/09/2019 12:48 g b s windows ad 91x137mm Ethical C dec 2018 FINAL.indd 1 14/12/2018 10:42 ETHICAL CONSUMER Editorial WHO’S WHO s we go to press, Extinction Rebellion (XR) are on the THIS ISSUE’S EDITOR Tim Hunt streets again demanding action from our government PROOFING Ciara Maginness (Little Blue Pencil) WRITERS/RESEARCHERS Jane Turner, Tim Hunt, on the issues of climate change and ecological Rob Harrison, Anna Clayton, Joanna Long, collapse. Josie Wexler, Ruth Strange, Mackenzie Denyer, AThe guides featured in this issue (laptops, desktops, mobile Clare Carlile, Francesca de la Torre, Alex Crumbie, phones and networks) also provide a reminder as to why we Tom Bryson REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS Simon Birch, Colin Birch need political as well as consumer action to tackle these and DESIGN Tom Lynton other problems. LAYOUT Adele Armistead (Moonloft), Jane Turner One of the big issues we cover in the guides is that of conflict COVER Tom Lynton minerals. This is the perfect example of where concerted action CARTOONS Marc Roberts, Andy Vine from companies, driven by legislative change, can bring positive AD SALES Simon Birch real-world improvements. The Dodd-Frank Act in the US has SUBSCRIPTIONS Elizabeth Chater, Francesca Thomas seen companies forced to better monitor and account for the use PRESS ENQUIRIES Simon Birch, Tim Hunt of conflict minerals in their supply chains, and this has had an ENQUIRIES Francesca Thomas impact on the funding of conflict in the DRC (read more on page WEB EDITOR Sophie Billington 13). THANKS ALSO TO Marlous Veldt, Merle Büter, This law only came about due to a concerted effort from civil Haneen Hameed society groups such as the Enough campaign. We only hope that All material correct one month before cover date the efforts from XR will be equally successful in pressurising our and © Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd. ISSN 0955 8608 government into taking more radical and ambitious action on the environment. Printed with vegetable ink by RAP Spiderweb Ltd, c/o the Commercial Centre, Clowes Centre, Another two examples of where government action is much Hollinwood, Oldham OL9 7LY. 0161 947 3700 needed also feature heavily in our guides: those of e-waste and PAPER 100% post-consumer waste, chlorine-free the use of toxic chemicals. It is clear from our research that the and sourced from the only UK paper merchant majority of companies are failing to take either issue seriously supplying only recycled papers – Paperback enough. In the case of e-waste, several companies are actively (www.paperbackpaper.co.uk) working against proposed initiatives for reducing consumer RETAIL DISTRIBUTION is handled by Central Books on 0845 458 9911. waste (see page 22). At the same time, toxic chemicals continue Ethical Consumer is a member of INK to be used in many consumer electronics often without any (independent news collective), an association of targets to reduce or phase them out. More encouragingly radical and alternative publishers. though, there are civil society groups working to take practical www.ink.uk.com and political action on the issue of e-waste, and we feature the We are a Living Wage employer, a multi-stakeholder European-wide Right to Repair movement on page 35. co-op, and Fair Tax Mark accredited Outside of our guides, another key issue that demands an immediate and concerted effort from government, companies and civil society is the protection of the Amazon rainforest. Recent months have seen a level of destruction that is unprecedented in recent years. This has been enabled by a right-wing government but is also, ultimately, of benefit to some global companies. From soy traders to fast food outlets, the ever- increasing demand for soy and beef continues apace. As we discuss in our feature on page 40, some companies and ABOUT THE ADVERTISERS financial institutions have started to boycott various sectors of ECRA checks out advertisers before accepting their the Brazilian economy. These efforts though, while more than ads and reserves the right to refuse any advert a token gesture, are unlikely to be enough to bring sufficient COVERED IN PREVIOUS PRODUCT GUIDES pressure on the Bolsonaro government for it to need to Abundance (172), Co-operative phone & change direction. The EU meanwhile has begun to broadband (145), Kingfisher Toothpaste (165), apply more concerted pressure on the country, Mooncup (180), Natracare (180), Plamil (169), Vegetarian Shoes (162), Windmill Organics (166). and long may this continue. OTHER ADVERTISERS Bhopal Campaign, Egni Co-op, Green Building Store, Juno, Infinity Wholefoods, Investing Ethically, New Internationalist, War On Want, Womankind. ETHICAL CONSUMER RESEARCH ASSOCIATION LTD Unit 21, 41 Old Birley Street, Manchester, M15 5RF 0161 226 2929 — 12 noon-6pm [email protected] — general TIM HUNT [email protected] — subscriptions EDITOR ethicalconsumer.org 3 Generate Clean Energy SHARE OFFER now OPEN Invest Tackle Climate Change 4% r etu r n in community INVEST FROM £50 solar power www.egni.coop · [email protected] · e g n i co-op 01639 830870 · From the award-winning Awel Co-op team ETHICAL CONSUMER Contents 6 FEATURE SHOPPING GUIDES 42 Torching the Amazon Computers Which brands are linked to the 12 Introduction Amazon fires 13 Conflict minerals 42 14 Laptops Score Table & Best Buys 15 Toxic chemicals 16 2-in-1 laptops Score Table & Best Buys 16 Workers’ rights 18 Desktop computers NEWS Score Table & Best Buys 19 Companies behind the brands 06 Food & Home How climate-friendly is your council? 20 E-waste Free vegan milk? Good Fish Guide. Plastic. Whaling. Stop arming Israel. Mobile phones 08 Boycotts 24 Introduction Calls on Microsoft to withdraw from 26 Score Table & Best Buys facial recognition technology. The teenagers making Alexa. 27 Sustainability labelling 29 The Fairphone 09 Clothes 24 XR at London Fashion Week. 29 Companies behind the Underpaid in Manchester. G7 Fashion brands Pact. 11 Climate Mobile networks Climate strike. Rejecting oil 30 Introduction sponsorship. 30 Tax avoidance 35 Beyond consumerism 32 Score Table & Best Buys Right to Repair. 33 How to switch provider What is 5G? 38 Tax justice Public support for Wealth Tax. The 34 Companies behind the struggle for tougher reforms. brands 39 Money Customer Union success. Wind farm 30 opportunity. Carbon divested funds. 11 REGULARS 23 Christmas gift subscriptions Give a gift that lasts all year. 37 Ethical Novice Trials and tribulations of trying to be ethical: Laptops 44 Letters A regular forum for readers’ views 46 Inside view A Green New Deal and the global south ethicalconsumer.org 5 NEWS Food & home said. “These are the way forward as we Sainsbury’s and Unilever to cut challenge our throwaway culture. “We believe solutions to the plastic pollution problem must focus on reducing plastic by 50% by 2025 single-use packaging altogether, with an Both Sainsbury’s and Unilever have “Sainsbury’s should prioritise these emphasis on prevention and a wholescale recently said that they will cut their solutions rather than switching to other transition into reusable solutions.” use of plastic in half by 2025. But types of throwaway packaging and we The announcements come after the campaigners fear that they will stand ready to help them achieve this publication of a new report by the House just replace it with other single-use ambitious goal.” of Commons Environment, Food and packaging rather than reducing Elsewhere the Environmental Rural Affairs Committee. Entitled ‘Plastic packaging and using reusable options Investigation Agency (EIA) welcomed Food and Drink Packaging’, the report such as refills. Unilever’s promise to halve its use of new expresses disappointment at Government Louise Edge, head of Greenpeace UK’s plastic by 2025 and to collect and reuse inaction to tackle the root causes of plastic ocean plastics campaign, said: “Last year more plastic than it sells. They also urged pollution and unnecessary single-use we ranked UK supermarkets on their the company to achieve this via a whole- packaging, criticising the lack of focus on plastic policies and Sainsbury’s came last scale reduction in single-use packaging reducing plastic food and drink packaging in the league table. and a shift away from the throwaway in the first place. “This commitment from Sainsbury’s to business model. Bio-based and biodegradable plastics cut plastic by 50% by 2025 is a victory for EIA Ocean Campaigner Juliet Phillips do not necessarily break down in the the 95,000 plus customers who lobbied urged Unilever to ensure its drastic natural environmental any faster them to do better on plastic. plastic cuts are not met by substituting than conventional plastics and can “We commend Sainsbury’s for one form of plastic for another, such as contaminate waste recycling streams.