Lost in music

The introduction and popularity of Sony's personal stereo in 1979, which revolutionised our music listening habits, ensured their Walkman brand is now listed in the Oxford English dictionary. But how ethical are the 21st century range of personal stereos? Elanor Gordon investigates.

The rapid development of computers and their software has radically changed how we can acquire and listen to music. Now, not withstanding the legal position, we can go onto the Internet and share our music files with other music lovers (a high-tech international version of swapping tapes with your friends). We can also buy individual songs through such services as Apple's iTunes, or simply record our music onto computer, then carry our favourite songs with us on our minidisc or mp3 players. This report looks at all types of digital personal stereos - CD, digital radio, minidisc and mp3 players, plus Freeplay's wind-up radio as an environmental alternative.

CORPORATE CRITICISMS

Until recently, the personal stereo market has been dominated by the electronic giants - Sony, Panasonic, NEC, Sharp and Philips - all of which sell electronics to the arms industry and have been criticised for their abuse of workers' rights. The popularity of downloading music from the Internet has created a demand for new types of technology, which has led to innovations from the new, smaller companies covered in this report. Mainly based in South Korea and manufacturing in China, these new companies offer some alternative to buying from big multinationals such as those mentioned.

VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR...

... Or mp3 killed the minidisc player? The Korea Times reported recently that globally, MP3 players were outselling CD and cassette players, and that iRiver controlled more than 25% of the global MP3 market.(1) The US recording industry, of which Sony is one of the five major players, seems to be using copyright as a weapon to attempt to maintain its dominance in a rapidly changing industry by taking legal action against file sharers. Similarly, marketing collaborations such as Apple and Sony Music Entertainment with PepsiCo (2) (one of the targets of our BoycottBush campaign), and Philips with Nike,(3) have a similar feel about them.

Rival companies such as Microsoft, Apple and Sony limit the use of their own machines by using types of file format only compatible with their machine. If the file doesn't fit, the machine won't play it. Other initiatives, such as the music industry further restricting CD copy-protection technology, which stops you from making mp3 versions of songs on your computer, all push towards rendering relatively new machines obsolete within a couple of years. iRiver probably provides the most versatile personal stereo for listening to music in different file formats,(4) thus maintaining the diversity of formats available and reducing the monopoly of the major players.

TOXIC SHOCK

Mountains of electronic waste are growing, which, due to the toxic substances found in electrical equipment, means that "e-waste" has become a problem of crisis proportions. The EU Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) comes into play in 2004, which means producers will be responsible for the recycling of at least three quarters of electrical appliances,(5) and will encourage consumers to recycle, and producers to build more long-lasting products.

The US-based Basel Action Network (BAN), which campaigns against the export of toxic waste from rich to poorer countries, recently investigated such activities in China and Pakistan.(6) Their report showed that most waste electrical equipment imported from the West is broken down with complete disregard for human health and the ecosystem.(6) Fortunately, the UK has signed the BAN treaty to ban exports of toxic electronics for recycling, unlike the US, which still appears to be burying its head in the sand over this issue.(6) However, one of the brands found during BAN's investigations in China was an Apple colour monitor.(6)

UNPICKING POLICY

Shop searches revealed Sony personal stereos made in Malaysia, Philips personal stereos made in China; Alba's website mentioned its China factory.(8) Dixons was the only company that sent us a code of conduct for suppliers, which mentioned that it sourced its own-brand goods from throughout Asia, including both China and Malaysia(9) - both oppressive regimes where workers' rights abuses are common.

Whilst Dixons' code of conduct wasn't independently verified, it was nevertheless extensive, and seemed to be heading in the right direction. Similarly, although it doesn't have what we consider a clear environmental reporting record, Dixons is working with the Industry Council for Electronic Equipment Recycling (ICER),(10) which is a cross-industry forum for electronics recycling, and other similar organisations.

I GOT THE POWER

It was also disappointing to find that only a few top-of-the-range models of all types of personal stereo provided mains-powered battery rechargers with their products - ReignCom, HyunWon, MPMan and Sony all did. Given that it takes fifty times more energy to produce a battery than one gives out,(11) reliance on disposable batteries for personal stereos is a problem. Fewer than 1,000 of Britain's annual 20,000-30,000 tonnes of household waste batteries are recycled.(11) Schemes such as the Bristol Battery Recycling Campaign, which has piloted battery recycling across the city,(12) have enabled the reclamation of toxic metals and avoided clogging up landfill unnecessarily. Other local authorities, cities and companies can learn from Bristol's experience.

PLAYING ON MY RADIO

Following the plans of the UK government to end all analogue television broadcasts by 2010, the chairman of the industry-backed body for digital radio, the Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB), has called for the government to set a date for the switch-off of analogue radio.(13)

Digital radios provide a diverse range of music and spoken word programmes, with superior sound quality and reception. Unfortunately, the only digital radio specialist covered in this report - Pure - provided no information on its company's environment policy or code of conduct for suppliers. Additionally, we don't know where its radios are made.

We did find, however, that Freeplay radios, which were previously made in partnership with disability organisations in South Africa, are now made in China.(14) However, as an environmental alternative, wind-up/solar powered Freeplay radios still come out well.

References
1 Korea Times 30/12/03
2 http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/12/22/digital.music.reut 23/12/03
3 www.philips-nike.com/home.jsp?lang=en 27/1/04
4 Conversation with Pete Boyd ECRA IT specialist 23/1/04
5 www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=23521 6/1/04
6 Exporting Harm - The High-Tech Trashing of Asia, Basel Action Network 25/2/02
7 ECRA Shop search 1/12/03
8 Alba Group Overview 2003
9 Dixons News Release 15/5/03
10 www.dixons-group-plc.co.uk/ Community & Environment section 13/1/04
11 www.wasteonline.org.uk/resources/InformationSheets/Batteries.htm 6/1/04
12 www.southwestrda.org.uk/area-teams/west-of-england/batteries/ 6/1/04
13 www.drdb.org/ 26/1/04
14 www.sustainabletimes.ca/home.htm Power to the People article July 2002
15 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=107357&p=irol-faq 6/1/04
16 www.apple.com/federal/howtobuy/reseller.html 26/1/04
17 http://us.creative.com/corporate/about/subsid/ 5/12/03
18 www.freeplay.net/website/about/investors.php 14/12/03