Computer manufacturers Dell, HP and Lenovo are in the dog house with Greenpeace following an admission that they will not hit their commitment to remove vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame retardents (BFRs) from their products by the end of 2009. Greenpeace have punished the terrible trio by docking them points in their ‘Greener Guide to Electronics’ which was originally launched in 2006 to help consumers make informed choices about the green credentials of computer, TV, mobile phone and games console manufacturers.

Competitors Apple and Acer have stuck to their commitment, with Apple already having eliminated PVC and BFRs from all their product ranges apart from the power cables to their products, however this is under review with the aim being to find a certified power cable that is free of these toxic substances.

HP and Dell have not even given a revised deadline by which they commit to have eliminated PVC and BFRs from their product lines completely, however Lenovo have at least provided an amended date of 2010. Although Dell has a number of products on the market with reduced levels of these substances, HP does not even offer a product line to enable customers to make the greener choice.

Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace International’s toxics campaigner commented that,

“If Apple can find the solutions, there should be no reason why the other leading PC companies can’t. All of them should have at least one toxic-free line of products on the market by the end of this year.”