Ethical iRiver

[elwood]

I will just pass this on with no comments. (I'll try anyway)

I was skimming an article about ethical lifestyles makeovers in my newspaper today and there was a sidebar about ethical technology, it had paragraphs about, for example, how to dispose of old PCs, not leaving a monitor on standby overnight, etc.

It then went on to say that a magazine called Ethical Consumer did some Which?-style tests on the most ethical TV to buy, most ethical VHS etc. What sprung out of the page was that the most ethical CD player was from iRiver.

DAPs were not mentioned...

I imagine the implication is that to produce an ethical product, iRiver must be an ethical company (no connections to the arms trade, efficient processes with no waste, not testing products on animals, no slave labour, etc. etc.)

[XavierGr]

Amazing indeed!
Though it seems that they are not so ethical into making new firmware.... :P
(Sorry for the firmware whining comment)

[FlameGrilled]

Well, the iRiver brand's history is steeped in DAP's in CDP form, aka before the brand the products were sold in OEM type form under RioVolt and Dioneer brands by the appropriate companies.

So given that anything in-depth would be measured over some time, frankly the iHP/H series barely appears on the radar in terms of having been around a while. The iFP would stand a better chance of inclusion, but essentially the CDP's fit both 'internet audio' categories and conventional personal audio categories of domestic audio equipment equally, so the fact they appear on the survey radar is fairly assured.

Ethical, dunno what they set out to establish in an 'ethical' survey.

[fwumpbungle]

Excellent! So I can crank up my H340 while drinking my Fair Trade coffee, and eating my Fair Trade chocolate, and all with a clear, shiny shiny, angelic conscience!! Huzzah!

[elwood]

If you are buying Fairtrade chocolate I am surprised you can afford an h340

(Actually... the Green & Blacks Maya Gold is now almost half price in Sainsbury which has to be good news.)

As for FG's comment about what an ethical survey looks at, I can only assume it looks for products which are energy efficient in their use, recyclable/made from recycled materials/made from renewable resources where applicable, ummm not made from dead animals? and produced by a company which treats its workers fairly, does not have interests in arms, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, or other dubious areas, does not operate in or sell to particular unsavoury regimes, and has factories which do not pollute the local area. All company vehicles powered by elastic bands... I'm starting to guess now.

Anyway, as almost my last action before getting booted out of office was to get my local council to pass a resolution about becoming a Fairtrade town I will get a warm glow if it turns out that my iRiver is ethical.

Not sure it will make up for me working for an arms manufacturer though

[FlameGrilled]

Elwood possibly has summed up part of the reasoning behind the 'ethical' motive of the survey, but as a old cynic myself, i also think his analysis is more what would be good use of such a survey and less reflective of what the survey is really about i suspect.

That's meant entirely in respect of your past efforts, Elwood, since i know that some people try to make a difference and others (like yourself) do it with good intent not for glory.

I suspect this survey is another non-entity 'lifestyle' thing - where you create a concept and give it some substance by taking a survey on such matters purely for the purpose of getting some kinda message across.

In most cases, like many such surveys to support a concept in lifestyle shows and publications, this kinda stuff adds up to zero, and is often worth zero to mankind - it simply keeps journos and academics in the good books with their sponsors/backers/bosses.

In a geniune instance of a survey of companies and products that actually did account for the stuff that Elwood speculated over, then it would definately be of some interest to those who's lifestyle is governed by political correctness and such considerations - i doubt it would be of much use to the rest of us.

However, if following Elwood's tact, the survey of such stuff was done to help discover some idea of who is trying to make difference in a lead by example basis, then it has some value.

But like i said earlier, this survey seems to stink more of journo/academic budget squandering than something with real intent and purpose.