What it is: Apple strives to be as environmentally friendly as possible while other companies don’t work as hard. The big question is why?
Look at companies like Samsung. Does anyone think they exist to make a difference in the world or to make money? Now look at Apple. Even if you don’t like Apple products, you can’t ignore the fact that the Macintosh helped make computers easier to use, the iPhone made smartphones commonplace, and the iPad made tablets convenient. The Apple Watch is slowly defining the wearable computer market while the Apple TV is tackling the problem of viewing content on a TV screen.
If you can believe the rumors, Apple is also working on Project Titan, a car project that might be an electric car, a hydrogen-powered car, a self-driving car, or just a car accessory of some kind.
Whatever the case, Apple is trying to make a difference in the world and that’s what separates Apple from most other companies. Nobody looks at Dell Computers as a company that’s making the world a better place. Dell simply pioneered the idea of made-to-order PCs to keep costs low. What has Dell done for the environment? For labor relations in Asian overseas factories that manufacturer their components?
On the other hand, Apple strives to develop user interfaces that are easy for anyone to use, even if you have physical disabilities such as loss of sight, hearing, or use of your fingers. Apple’s products are made form recyclable materials that are mercury-free in overseas factories that Apple is forcing to improve their worker conditions. While Apple gets attacked by critics for the actions of workers at Foxconn, few critics mention that Foxconn has been making components for other companies for decades including Microsoft, Samsung, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. If Apple’s suppliers have a spotty labor and environmental record, so does nearly all the technology companies in the world. Yet Apple works to make their products environmentally friendly while other companies do not.
That’s because if you’re focused on making money instead of making a difference, you’ll always see everything through the prism of profits and expenses. If something doesn’t immediately contribute to the bottom line, it gets cut. That’s why companies like Dell focus on low prices and can’t afford to worry about worker conditions or environmental issues since these cost money without boosting profits right away.
If you’re happy just buying the cheapest products on the market even if they’re built by exploited workers in factories that pollute, then it’s easy to buy products from any other company not named Apple. But if you want to support a company that strives to make a difference in the world instead of just making a profit, then your choices get smaller right away.
In the computer industry, there’s one company that consistently leads the market that everyone else follows, and that company is Apple. Perhaps in the future another company will develop more useful products that help make a difference in the world for consumers and workers alike, but until that company arrives, the most socially responsible technology company so far seems to be Apple with other companies either not bothering to try or ignoring anything that doesn’t make them a profit.
You don’t want to support companies that just want to make money. You want to support companies that want to make a difference. If you just want to support companies that make money, you can choose from lots of different companies. However, if you want to support a company that tries to make a difference, your choices narrow considerably.
There’s a reason why Apple buyers tend to be so loyal. It’s not just the product they’re buying, but the company philosophy as well. If you don’t like Apple, then ask yourself what corporate philosophy you really want to support after all? Greed, profit, and selfishness that make more money for one company? Or change, environmental issues, and labor relations that helps change the world? The choice you make says more about who you are than the company you like or dislike.