Commenting on phone manufacture Samsung’s soaring profits revealed today (Friday 25 January 2013), Friends of the Earth’s Head of Campaigns Andrew Pendleton said:

“Samsung’s profits may be soaring, but do they come with a cost? The company has yet to explain whether the tin it uses in its phones is ravaging the tropical forests and coral reefs of Bangka Island, Indonesia.

“Research shows that tin from Banka is almost certainly in Samsung’s products.

“New rules are needed to make all companies disclose their supply chains - starting with a Europe-wide law next year.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.    In November last year a Friends of the Earth investigation found that Smartphones sold by best-selling brands almost certainly contain tin from a paradise island in Indonesia where tin mining is destroying forests and farmland, choking coral reefs and devastating many communities. The environment charity's research showed that Samsung and Apple deal with companies that use tin mined on Bangka island and it's almost certain that this tin ends up in their products, although the companies may not have known this or about the devastating effect of mining on the island

2.    Friends of the Earth's new Make It Better campaign is asking leading smartphone makers to say whether their phones contain tin linked to the destruction of coral reefs and forests in Indonesia's Bangka islands - and to back new rules for all companies to come clean about their supply chains at www.foe.co.uk/makeitbetter. To help end problems in the supply chain, we're calling for legislation requiring large companies operating in Europe to report on their full human and environmental impacts - including indirect impacts through suppliers - such as accidents, pollution incidents, greenhouse gas emissions and how much of the world's water, land and raw materials they use. The Make It Better campaign will also celebrate positive steps companies are taking towards more planet-friendly production and how innovative design can reduce the environmental impact of our favourite items.