Brazil has suspended the sale of all iPhone models that do not come with a charger. This practice was adopted by Apple with the launch of the iPhone 12 and, as the company has justified, is one of the vectors of the company’s sustainability policies. Apple claims that this is an incentive to use old chargers, fight waste and save the use of raw materials. The Brazilian authorities have different readings and see the measure as discriminatory. apple charger

This same argument had already motivated several state lawsuits in the country, which condemned Apple to pay different fines and requested a change in the sales policy in the country, without results. This new process also results in a fine of 12.3 million reais, equivalent to 2.4 million euros.

Apple has already reacted, in statements to Reuters, confirming that it will appeal the decision and showing confidence in its ability to reverse it. “ We have already won several court rulings in Brazil on this matter and we are confident that our customers are aware of the various options for charging and connecting their devices,” defended a company spokesperson. apple charger

Brazilian regulators have stressed that not all buyers of a new iPhone have a charger compatible with the model at home and those who don’t are in a discriminatory situation and are forced to incur more costs to be able to use the equipment. In São Paulo, Procon São Paulo fined Apple in March last year because of this issue, considering that the company downgraded its offer, without any price adjustment.

In January this year, Apple and Samsung were fined for the same reason, this time by Procon Fortaleza and in a global amount equivalent to 2.4 million euros (26 million reais).

As the decision was based on, the practice of “tied sales”, where the purchase of a certain product is conditioned to the purchase of another, is prohibited in Brazil, according to article 39 of the Consumer Protection Code. The company had also been fined by Procon from other states-Santa Catarina and Caldas Novas.

“Environmental concern”?

This new process, which culminated in a fine and sanction applied by the Ministry of Justice, was brought by Senacom – National Consumer Secretariat, to whom Apple claimed that the measure resulted from an “environmental concern” and is intended to “stimulate consumption sustainably,” as mentioned by Exame Brasil. Senacon did not accept the arguments “since the company’s decision to sell the devices without a charger ended up transferring the entire burden to the consumer.”

In fact, this measure, which several manufacturers have been implementing, has been controversial since the beginning, with some voices stressing that this is more a way of helping companies to save costs than an initiative with a real environmental impact, since the purchase apart from chargers in some situations cannot be avoided and will involve more packaging than necessary to sell the accessory with the equipment. Apple is facing a lawsuit for the same reason in China too.

Apple presents numbers in its annual sustainability report. It was revealed in the last one, in 2021, that not including chargers in iPhone cases would save 861,000 tons of copper, zinc, and tin. The company stressed that this decision also results in the ability to ship devices more efficiently since with smaller packages it becomes possible to include more in each pallet and reduce the company’s carbon dioxide emissions.

The Brazilian decision was made known this Tuesday, the day before the event scheduled by Apple to present news, where one of the stars will be the new generation of the iPhone 14. apple charger

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