Are there any non-vegan components of consumer electronics? For example, any adhesive that may be used in the case.
I own an older laptop, and would be interested in the results.
Are there any non-vegan components of consumer electronics? For example, any adhesive that may be used in the case.
I own an older laptop, and would be interested in the results.
I did a bit of research and I found that computers are generally not vegan, and it seems to be true since I didn't see anything saying the opposite and most of what I saw was written by Vegans in wonder (not haters trying to ... - you know the drill).
Unfortunately, I did not find their sources to see what specifically uses animal products (so I won't refer every blog post I found), except from this site which article is based on the book Veganissimo A to Z: A Comprehensive Guide to Identifying and Avoiding Ingredients of Animal Origin in Everyday Products, whose name explains what it lists. I did not read the book so I can't say how reliable it is, however the reviews seem good.
This article lists 10 products that are thought to be vegan but that aren't necessarily. In these we can find in electronic products :
I also found that most plastic (every electronic boards are made of plastic) manufacturers use animal-derived agents "to improve material properties and/or to aid in processing of raw polymers". Not every plastics though, and it seems that (if your question is about getting a new computer, and without wanting to enter a Mac vs. PC discussion) Apple are 'trying their best to be as vegan-friendly as possible' since Steve Jobs was vegetarian, but I couldn't find any reliable statement from them on their current position on the subject (and the vegan - as well as the other - posts I found never talked about 100 % vegan products)
One thing that is however true for most electronics circuits is that the rare-earth elements extraction process exploits at least humans (to which we can add deforestation that kills many animals, and electronic manufacturing that often exploit humans as well), which in my vision of veganism is not vegan (EDIT it might be considered out of the vegan 'fight', but many people defend human rights before being vegan, and when they become vegan they include many of these ethic considerations in their vegan thinking, so up to you to see if this matches your definition of veganism).
a reflection that I took apart from the main answer, because maybe a little off-topic :
But what you should keep in mind is the benefits (not economically, but in your vegan/vegetarian point of view) that you can achieve using a computer or other electronic devices, with regards to what it costs. Not buying useless/unnecessary stuff for a start, making your computer and/or phone last as long as you can, and when you need something trying to find it second-hand (in the limits of what is possible), to minimize your negative impact while not reducing your positive impact.