A report from the Ethical Company Organisation, "The
Good Office Guide", is telling users which are the “most ethically
sound” office printer products.
Brother was the top brand when it came to office printing,
covering printers, fax machines and all-in-one products. The guide
takes account of both environmental concerns - such as energy
consumption and emissions - and ethical issues, including human
rights and affiliations with the nuclear and arms industries.
Other manufacturers did not score so well. Amongst the concerns
raised against other companies were alleged labour rights
violations, accusations of aiding and abetting apartheid violence,
and the dumping and burning of products exported to Nigeria.
The report takes into account 12 different ethical criteria and,
based on these, calculates an overall Ethical Company index rating.
The highest that can be achieved is 100.
Based on this research, company scores ranged from as low as 45
(Samsung) to as high as 100 (Brother). Xerox was second from bottom
on 55, and the closest company to Brother was Olivetti on 85.
Chris Hinds, Brother’s head of marketing, said, “All our
research, design and manufacturing processes have been overhauled
to achieve the stringent TCO’99 standard for environmental product
performance and accessibility. We remain the only printer
manufacturer to have achieved this mark.”
"The Good Office Guide" is part of
"The Good Shopping Guide", from the Ethical
Company Organisation, which annually researches the ethical
status of over 700 companies.
"The Good Shopping Guide" is supported by several NGOs including
the World Development Movement, Friends of the Earth and Christian
Aid.
Ethical Company Organisation website
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