The Democratic Republic of the Congo produces nearly three-quarters of the world’s cobalt, an essential component in rechargeable batteries powering laptops, smartphones and electric vehicles. But those who dig up the valuable mineral often work in horrific and dangerous conditions, says Siddharth Kara, an international expert on modern-day slavery and author of Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives. In an in-depth interview, he says the major technology companies that rely on this cobalt from DRC to make their products are turning a blind eye to the human toll and falsely claiming their supply chains are free from abuse, including widespread child labor. “The public health catastrophe on top of the human rights violence on top of the environmental destruction is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the modern context,” says Kara. “The fact that it is linked to companies worth trillions and that our lives depend on this enormous violence has to be dealt with.”
I don’t really think that’s the answer. We should be compensating these people accordingly for what they provide for us.
There’s no reason they shouldn’t have thriving economies other than greed.
No, we shouldn’t have to pay higher prices. The people at the top should be making less profit.
Unfortunately, in places like Africa, there are just fewer people with an egregious amount of wealth. Even if we paid higher prices or the people at the top made less money, most of what is being made is being siphoned off by those exploiting the workers.
There’s already a switch ongoing to cobalt-free batteries (half of Teslas produced in 2022 did not use cobalt batteries).
I don’t really think that’s the answer. We should be compensating these people accordingly for what they provide for us.
There’s no reason they shouldn’t have thriving economies other than greed.
No, we shouldn’t have to pay higher prices. The people at the top should be making less profit.
Unfortunately, in places like Africa, there are just fewer people with an egregious amount of wealth. Even if we paid higher prices or the people at the top made less money, most of what is being made is being siphoned off by those exploiting the workers.
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Yeah, the working conditions need to be improved so that this isn’t even happening.
To be fair, they’re not all children like you’re clearly implying.
sure, but that goes for any product imported from/outsourced to a country with less worker rights.