Humanitarian Side of Everything: The True Cost of Your iPhone

If you’re not reading this on one, you’ve probably got one in your pocket–iPhones have become a constant and even necessary part of our lives. 

The cost of an iPhone ranges between $500 to $1000, depending on the model. What is not reflected in that price is the true cost that goes into making one of the most popular products on the tech market—that is, the environmental toll and social cost hidden behind our screens.

The Proliferation of the iPhone

More than 1.9 billion iPhones have been sold worldwide. Apple is one of the largest and most influential players in the phone technology market, with iPhones accounting for six of the top 10 highest-selling phones worldwide. 

The iPhone is complex. Seventy-five of the 118 elements on the periodic table are involved in its production. Raw materials range from aluminum to tin, cobalt to silicon, and beyond. Since the iPhone requires so many resources—even though it may seem like a microscopic amount for a single phone— extracting these materials and producing phones has a substantial social and environmental impact. The very first step of the supply chain for merely one raw material, cobalt, shows the effects. 

Cobalt in the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has two-thirds of the world’s cobalt reserves. Cobalt is instrumental in the production of lithium batteries and therefore skyrocketed in value because the demand for new technologies that require these batteries, from iPhones to computers to smart cars, continues to increase. 

Due to its reserves, the DRC is in a potentially lucrative position to cash in on the growing demand for cobalt. However, the country’s infrastructure was not equipped to handle the sudden demand for cobalt, so the current system of extraction relies on an exploitative and dangerous labor system and is incredibly harmful to the environment.

Child Labor and Unsafe Working Conditions

About 20 percent of cobalt mining in the DRC is done by ‘artisanal miners,’ or local Congolese who dig mines and try to locate cobalt without the support or overhead of a company or institution. The remainder of cobalt produced is from foreign-owned firms, primarily Chinese operations. Especially given the conditions of artisanal mining, there are several documented types of human rights abuses linked to the mining of cobalt, including child labor, highly unsafe working conditions, exploitation, and extremely low wages.

It is currently not known exactly how many children work in cobalt extraction, however, the Wilson Center estimated in Sept. 2021 that the number was around 40,000. Children as young as six years old sift mineral runoff for extracted bits of cobalt and copper, carrying the back-breaking weight of cobalt sacks, and, in some cases, venturing into the extremely dangerous mines themselves. 

One of the primary issues with combatting child labor is the lack of infrastructure. There are not enough schools for these children to attend, and so it is difficult to remove them from mines when there is no available child care or schools to watch them while their parents are working. Those who are able to attend school often must drop out at some point to help support their families. 

Another major concern around cobalt extraction is the unsafe working conditions. To reach cobalt reserves underground, miners have to dig narrow vertical shafts that can stretch up to 90 meters below ground (30 meters is the legal maximum length). These miners are at risk of mine collapse, landslides, flooding from rains, or suffering from lack of oxygen, all lethal threats since there is typically zero safety gear for these workers. 

Typically, a team of miners will extract around two tons of cobalt a day and get paid around $2 or $3 each for the whole day’s work. Some wait until dark to invade mines owned by private mining companies or dig mines under private property to mine enough cobalt to make ends meet, which has led to clashes with law enforcement. 

Deforestation, Pollutants, and Birth Defects

Though lithium-ion batteries were intended to make the world greener, the rapid extraction of cobalt has harsh environmental realities. Miners begin digging a mine by clearing the land of trees, which leads to expansive deforestation and a loss of biodiversity. Private cobalt mining companies dig enormous ground mines. These operations generate exorbitant levels of carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions.

The mines also severely pollute rivers and wells, which exposes local Congolese to extremely harmful levels of toxins in their water and leads to an increase in illnesses and birth defects. The University of Lubumbashi conducted a study and found that individuals, mostly in southern DRC who lived near mines, had urinary concentrations of cobalt 43 times as high as a control group, lead five times as high, and cadmium and uranium five times as high. The environmental effects of cobalt mines are felt most severely on the local level, however, they undoubtedly leave a global scar. 

Apple’s involvement and knowledge of the issues at this first step in the supply chain are not well documented. The company commented that they are “deeply committed to the responsible sourcing of materials” that goes into their products. And after independent investigations by journalists that revealed these working conditions, Apple removed six cobalt refiners in 2019 that were not up to ethical standards.

 In late 2019, Apple, along with several other major tech companies, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by several Congolese families who have seen their children killed or severely injured in the mines. In Nov. 2021, a judge dismissed the case saying that there was not a strong enough causal relationship between the companies and the injuries. 

This is not altogether surprising because information about the conditions of these mines and the companies’ exact involvement (which mines source their products, which workers mine those mines, etc) is all very hidden. It is difficult to tie these companies to specific people and injuries when the entire system of extraction is not monitored and there is little infrastructure in place to make the process transparent. 

Most of the information we have about these mines comes from independent journalism. The supply chain is a murky and complicated web of people and places involved in sourcing, production, selling, management, and disposal. It is apparent that a company simply stating that they are dedicated to ethical standards is not enough. Some companies, like Apple, have third-party auditing systems in place, however, the validity of these “third parties” is difficult to determine. 

None of this is to say that tech companies need to stop all business with the DRC. Cobalt is important to the future of technology, however, we cannot sacrifice one future of the environment and social health for a different future of technological advancement. 

Apple’s current trajectory is to begin producing iPhones from all recycled materials (which highlights the need to turn your old technology into the tech giant when you get a new phone or computer). While this sounds good, and it undoubtedly is positive, it leaves the vital question of what will happen in southern DRC if these tech companies begin pulling out. 

Cobalt mining is how hundreds of thousands of Congolese earn their living—what will happen to these miners if they lose their livelihood, as exploitative as it appears? Do these tech companies have an obligation to provide infrastructure for verifying ethical standards of cobalt mining if they stay? Does this extend to infrastructure like schools which will reduce child labor, but is typically seen as a government expenditure? 

This is not a simple issue. Here are some things you can do:

1. Support independent journalism that raises awareness for these realities (I recommend Reuters, The Associated Press, Al-Jazeera, and The Wall Street Journal)
2. Recycle your old electronics properly—do not throw them out! You can typically turn them in to any Apple store or Best Buy (Best Buy is good for any electronic, non-Apple products)
3. Demand supply chain transparency through writing letters to your representative
4. Tell others! Spreading the word is important, especially to help others in full-cost accounting of their actions/purchases