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Apple and Samsung stores hit by digital graffiti campaign(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Campaigning has gone virtual as Friends of the Earth uses augmented reality for the first time to target Apple and Samsung in the latest stage of its campaign for smartphones and other products that don't harm people or the environment. Activists from the environment charity have digitally tagged 12 key Apple and Samsung stores around the country. Smartphone users in these locations following Friends of the Earth's channel on the free Aurasma app will see the stores enhanced by virtual graffiti, just by viewing the store front through their phone screen. Over the store front and the iPhone signage inside all Apple stores an interactive 'Aura' now appears, showing a short film that reveals the devastation caused by mining tin for smartphones in Indonesia. Users can also click through to a website where they can email Apple and Samsung to ask them whether they use tin - an essential component in all electronic items - from Indonesia. A short http://https://vimeo.com/58883161 in action. Friends of the Earth's Make It Better campaign, launched in November, is calling for tough new rules to make all companies come clean about their supply chains, starting with a Europe-wide law next year. Friends of the Earth's Head of Campaigns Andrew Pendleton said: "More than 14,000 people have asked Samsung and Apple if their products contain tin that's trashing tropical forests and coral reefs in Indonesia - so far they've refused to say. "Millions of us love our smartphones and couldn't do without them - we want to be able to love the way they're made too. "We'll be keeping the pressure on these technology leaders in every dimension until they come clean about their supply chains and commit to better processes to protect people and the environment." Friends of the Earth is using the augmented reality app to get more tech-savvy smartphone users involved with the campaign for better made gadgets and other products. The charity is embracing digital guerrilla activism using new technology and social media to find fresh ways to reach new audiences and publicise its messages. Breakdown of auras created by Friends of the Earth: Aurasma users not following Friends of the Earth's channel will see a speech bubble appear on a green background, asking 'Is my phone trashing tropical forests http://www.foe.co.uk/makeitbetter '. Location Auras 1. All Apple stores - iPhone logo signs on demonstration tables Video, link to website 2. Bristol Apple Store: 11 Philadelphia St, Quakers Friars, Cabot Circus, Bristol BS1 3BZ Video, link to website and speech bubble 3. Bristol Apple Store: Upper Mall, The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, Bristol BS34 5DG Video, link to website and speech bubble 4. Manchester Apple Store: 146 Peel Avenue, Trafford Centre, Manchester M17 8BL Video, link to website 5. Manchester Apple Store: New Cannon Street Mall, Arndale Centre, Manchester, M4 3AJ Video, link to website 6. Liverpool Apple Store: Paradise Street (West), Liverpool ONE Shopping Centre, Liverpool L1 8JF Video, link to website and speech bubble 7. Birmingham Apple Store: Level 3, Upper Mall West, Bullring Shopping Centre, Birmingham B54BU Video, link to website and speech bubble 8. London Apple Store: No. 1-7 The Piazza, Covent Garden WC2E 8HA Video, link to website 9. London Apple Store: 235 Regent Street, London W1B 2EL Video, link to website and speech bubble 10. London Samsung Store: The Street, Westfield Stratford City, London E20 1EJ Video, link to website 11. London Apple Store: Floor 1, Westfield Stratford CityLondon E20 1EJ Video, link to website 12. Southampton Apple Store: West Quay Shopping Centre, Southampton, Hampshire SO15 1QE Video, link to website and speech bubble 13. Samsung HQ: Samsung House, 1000 Hillswood Drive,Chertsey, Surrey,KT16 0PS Video, link to website Key tin in electronics statistics: - Average tablet/Apple iPad weighs 650g and contains 1.3g of tin-rich solder. - All electronic gadgets contain tin-rich solder, an alloy of at least 95% tin with a little silver and copper, to hold together resistors, transistors and circuit boards. - Almost half of all mined tin is turned into solder for the electronics industry. Around a third of the world's tin is from the Indonesia islands of Bangka and Belitung. Devastation caused by tin mining in Bangka, Indonesia - key findings from Friends of the Earth's investigation: Dangerous and unregulated tin mining on Bangka is killing and injuring workers - police figures show that in 2011 an average of one miner a week died in an accident. Silt from tin mining dredgers and boats is clouding the formerly clear sea around Bangka, killing the seagrass eaten by turtles and 60-70% of the island's coral reefs, driving away fish and ruining fishermen's livelihoods. Farmers struggle to grow crops in soil turned acidic by the destruction of forests for tin mining. Doctors suspect a link between increased malaria cases and the stagnant water in hundreds of abandoned tin mine craters that are a breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes. Notes to editors Case studies of people affected by mining in Bangka and the full investigation into Samsung and Apple's supply chains are available in Friends of the Earth's report http://http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/tin_mining.pdf http://http://www.youtube.com/user/friendsoftheearth made in Indonesia show the damage caused by tin mining. http://http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/gadgets.xls showed that more than half (55%) of people believe manufacturers have the biggest responsibility for making sure people and the environment are protected in the making of their products, by ensuring their processes are safe and sustainable. And a further quarter (24%) said that governments, through laws and regulations they pass, should be most responsible for ensuring this happens. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2776 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 7 and 10 December 2012. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). Tin weight information based on ITRI, Henkel, FCC and Apple data quoted in http://http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-23/the-deadly-tin-inside-your-ipad#p2 . Friends of the Earth's http://www.foe.co.uk/makeitbetter 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.To help end problems in production, 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. Friends of the Earth Email: [email protected]: http://www.foe.co.ukTel: 020 7490 1555Fax: 020 7490 0881((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to [email protected])). (c) 2013 M2 COMMUNICATIONS |