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Nintendo Ranks Last In Conflict Minerals Report
derekmead writes "A new report by the Enough Project, an arm of the Center for American Progress, shows that companies like Intel, Apple and Microsoft have been successfully scaling back their use of conflict minerals in their products. Other companies have been less helpful. Out of the 24 companies surveyed and ranked based on their use of conflict minerals, Nintendo came in dead last, having made no effort to ensure that its products weren't funding guerrilla warfare in Africa. 'Nintendo is, I believe, the only company that has basically refused to acknowledge the issue or demonstrate they are making any sort of effort on it,' said Sasha Lezhnev from the Enough Project. 'And this is despite a good two years of trying to get in contact with them.'"
That just means they're open-minded and sensitive to other cultures and are willing to adapt to a global economy. There's no exploitation, quite the opposite, they should be applauded for using characters that go beyond their own borders.
So they get a 0 on their survey that doesn't get answer. Same thing with the greenpeace thing. Nintendo doesn't pay them, so they come in last.
So long as it's legal to use these minerals. Why should a business give a damm about anything else?
Leave the legal/moral/political areas to the goverments/people. If they rule it illegal. Then a business has to comply.
Or if people care enough the bad PR might hurt a company. But i really don't see that happening anytime soon.
IE conflict diamonds are forever too.
It's wasted effort. Minerals are fungible commodities. Choosing not to buy minerals from a particular source doesn't affect anything, as they just end up being sold to someone else for the same price.
About the only thing efforts like this are good for is PR and raising prices. Programs like this don't have any tangible impact in the conflict areas.
paintball