By Gina Williams, Co-Founder, and Derek Rogers, Staff Writer, of the Autonomie Project

When the first decade of the new millennium came and went, we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by personal electronics, a modern-day necessity. Chances are, the first thing you look at in the morning is your BlackBerry, iPhone, or other Smartphone. Perhaps you have an iPad, Nook, or Kindle you use on the subway on the commute to catch up on the day’s news. Whether we like it or not, electronics have become an essential part of our lives. However, many of us know little about the origins of our handheld havens.

Looking at the Source

In fact, many of us do not know the origins of many products that come in and out of our lives: from the clothes on our back to our cell phones in our pockets, and even the food on our plates. Recently, we really started to wonder where exactly our electronics are sourced.  As part of the Autonomie Project, a Fair Trade, Eco-friendly, and Vegan fashion and footwear company, we always question where and how the products in our lives are made. As conscious consumers, we were frustrated by the lack of options that were true to their code of ethics while still being friendly to our wallets, so we created the Autonomie Project; where our own code of ethics is always for the people, for the planet, for the animals. As a company, these three criteria are vital for how we source our items and this standard seeps into our lives as consumers.

Who’s Working for You?

So back to that question, where are our electronics sourced from? Tin, tantulum, and tungsten are metals which give life to our digital cameras, computers, and cell phones. A large percentage of these metals are mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). What major electronics companies like Apple, Nokia, Dell, and Motorola don’t tell you is that an estimated 50,000 children work in the Katanga Mine in DRC. Children make up about 1/3 of the entire mining workforce in DRC. Despite the rising value in metal, miners do not receive any raises and most cannot afford to live off the small wage they already earn. Furthermore, the lack of regulation from the DRC government on safety results places them in extremely dangerous work environments. In addition, the privatization of mines on the African continent has displaced tens of thousands of people forcing them to leave their homelands.

Why hasn’t the DRC government or electronic companies stepped in to end the abuse? For 10 years, the DRC has struggled with a civil war. Rebel groups sell to middlemen who pass the metals onto companies like Apple giving them the funds needed to purchase weapons. According to Amnesty International, global brands state they are being ethical by purchasing metals from licensed exporters. However, the exporters’ middlemen are known to purchase the metals from rebel groups.

The U.S. and What We Can Do

What about regulation on the US end? Congress has established bills, however, they will not be going to a vote anytime soon. Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Russ Feingold (D-WI) initiated talks about the Congo Conflict Minerals Act. This would force electronics makers to publicly release which mines are used in their electronics. Therefore, consumers would know what mines the metals are coming from. The second bill introduced is the Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act. This bill would force all SEC-listed companies’ financial statements to contain details concerning how much money is paid out to foreign governments for oil, gas, and minerals. Companies’ reputations would increase by a standard of transparency.

Both bills have not been discussed or touched for over a year according to govtrack.us, a website you can use to view the status of a bill as it travels through Congress. Write and call your local Senators and Reps and push forward these bills. Better yet, write to your favorite electronics maker. As a company, we are often on our iPhones, and MacBooks ever minute of the day. Rest assured, we will drop Apple a line about our concerns for the origins of their products we use everyday to run our socially responsible business.

As Americans, we are huge consumers in today’s modern world. It is only right for us to give thought to where our products come from.  Try to think about all the products in your life and how they might be sourced. As consumers, we have the power to demand responsibility with our buying power and it is about time we take it. Together we can take a stand against human and worker rights violations in this world, just buy the force of our dollar and our voice.

The Autonomie Project is a new Fair Trade fashion company offering stylish sweatshop-free & eco-friendly footwear, clothing and accessories. Launched in late 2007, the founders of Autonomie Project were inspired by the lack in the social marketplace of a truly wearable & affordable ethical clothing brand. With the strong desire to effect positive change in our world, these few good friends set off to start a small company with big dreams that aligned with the values of the growing grass-roots movement towards global sustainability.

Autonomie Project supplies high-quality garments at competitive prices to consumers that wish to make purchases with a social and environmental impact without having to sacrifice their own personal style, or break their wallet. In addition to a feel-good and fun shopping experience, Autonomie aims to raise awareness about today’s most pressing global issues. We hope to inspire our consumers to take action and help us uplift the communities of workers around the world that produce our goods.