Environmental advocate group Greenpeace has named Sony, Samsung, Microsoft, Amazon and Panasonic as among the major companies that still uses hazardous chemicals in manufacturing their products, Independent reported.
In the Greenpeace Green Gadget report, the organization claimed that the companies' continued usage of toxic materials contribute to the growing environmental problem.
The organization noted that Polyvinylchloride (PVC) and Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are the chemicals commonly used by large companies in manufacturing their products. These materials can be found in television sets, tablets, computers, cables and smartphones.
The hazardous effects of these chemicals are released during the devices' manufacturing and disposal process.
During the manufacturing stages, more chemicals are added to PVC and BFRs depending on its application. These additional materials, such as vinyl chloride monomer, are considered highly-toxic and can cause cancer.
For its disposal process, some countries burn the devices which releases the hazardous by-products of PVC and BFRs into the atmosphere.
Greenpeace greatly criticized Samsung in the report because according to the organization, the company has failed to keep its promise of eliminating hazardous chemicals from its manufacturing process.
Like the other corporations mentioned in the report, Samsung backtracked on its previous commitments.
For Andrew Hatton, Greenpeace UK's head of IT, tech companies are considered largely responsible for the condition of the environment due to their status as leaders of innovation.
Through the products they release, they play a significant role in determining the future situation of the world's ecology.
Based on the findings of the report, Hatton believes companies are still far away from achieving an environmentally-friendly operation, according to New Electronics.
"The industry still has a long road ahead of it before they're giving customers the level of efficiency and sustainability they are asking for," he said.
"The innovative electronics industry is perfectly placed to re-imagine their manufacturing and marketing processes," he added. "They're designing our future, and we need that future to be a lot cleaner and greener than where we are now."
Despite Greenpeace's revelation, the organization applauded Apple for eliminating the use of PVC and BFRs for its devices, Computer World reported.
"Apple has shown us a glimpse of a greener future, leading the sector in toxic-free products and starting to address the huge environmental footprint of electronics manufacturing," Hatton stated.
