Editor(s): Ester Baldacci
Preface: Paolo De Nardis
Children wonder what is inside a smartphone or the devices with which we occupy our time. Adults, confident in their rational and full awareness, should ask themselves what is behind those devices that today serve as the gateway to the world, to information, to social interaction, and often even to work and the buying and selling of goods and services. Are we aware of the supply chain behind the most advanced electronic products? In a historical moment when the definition of “sustainability” determines a company’s success and reliability, how sustainable is the market for electronic devices, which relies on a mineral, cobalt, for whose extraction child labour is widely used? Are consumers aware of this? This essay illustrates a long journey, from the cobalt mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the electronics stores, and finally to our homes: an empirical research conducted by the author helps us understand how much we know about the toil, sweat, and exploitation hidden behind the latest-generation devices.
Publisher: Armando Editore
Anno: 2023
