Coins DIG

The environmental campaign group states that Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, companies producing game consoles did not reduce the amount of toxic elements used to manufacture their products.

Greenpeace accuses these companies of lagging in the back of PC and cell phone producers.

"Game console manufacturers are lagging way behind the makers of mobile phones and PCs who have been reducing the toxic load of the products over the past year," mentioned Zenia Al Hajj, Greenpeace International's toxics campaigner. She added that game consoles include almost the same components as computers, thus manufacturers can make more effort to make their products greener.

Greenpeace launched a video lasting 90 seconds and being a part of the group's campaign. The video includes popular characters from games on the three consoles: Microsoft's Master Chief, Nintendo's Mario and Sony's Kratos. These characters are competing for the biggest prize which is a greener games console.

Gamers are able to compare the way each console evaluates its efficiency regarding toxic material, recycling and energy.

Nintendo is the one to agree on a dialogue with Greenpeace representatives. It is worth mentioning that the company is signed up to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive. The WEEE directive makes producers responsible for recycling their products.

"We make sure that all of our products comply with European standards which we understand are the highest in the world," said the company's spokesman.

Greenpeace hopes to persuade the whole electronics industry to get rid of hazardous chemicals. The group believes that the European legislation does not go far enough what concerns the most hazardous chemicals.

The group also mentioned that people working at Chinese and Indian facilities, where products are taken to pieces, might be at risk.

It is worth noting that the leaders in mobile industry Motorola, LG, Sony Ericsson and Philips, have all applied eco-design features into their production lines. They all reduced the amount of hazardous substances that were previously used in their products.