CASA - the contemporary a cappella society - Greenpeace Looking For 3 A Cappella Groups To Perform At Its Charity Concert

Greenpeace Looking For 3 A Cappella Groups To Perform At Its Charity Concert

Written by Jamie Choi

Thursday, 11 May 2006

PRESS RELEASE -- Greenpeace China is currently seeking 3 a cappella groups to perform at its charity concert that will take place in Beijing in late December of 2006. The concert’s purpose is to educate the Chinese public about electronic waste and it will serve as the culmination of Greenpeace China’s year-long public engagement effort.

Electronic waste (e-waste) is what becomes of electronic products— whether they are computers, cell phones, televisions, or iPods—when people throw them away. E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in many countries, and the EPA estimates that only in the US consumers get rid of 3 million tons of outdated or broken electronic devices annually. Less than 20% of e-waste gets recycled using responsible operations in the US. The vast majority, instead, are illegally exported to developing countries where workers at scrap yards, some of whom are children, manually recover materials such as plastics and copper for less than $1 a day. Wearing little protective gear, workers are exposed to heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and mercury, and other toxic compounds inside these electronic products. About 80% of the world’s e-waste is exported to Asia, and 90% of this ends up in China.

“Greenpeace believes that electronic companies, who have benefited from sales of their products, should manufacture toxics-free products and take full responsibility in recycling and discarding products that have reached the end of their lifecycle. However, in order to do this, we need public pressure, and before that public awareness,” said Jamie Choi, campaigner for Greenpeace’s toxics campaign.

Choi added that a cappella’s “unplugged” nature, which does not use any electronic instruments, coincides with Greenpeace’s campaign to protest against the irresponsible electronics industry.

Greenpeace believes that the concert will draw between 500-1,000 people, a crowd mostly comprised of college students and young adults. Unfortunately, Greenpeace will not be able to fund the airfare for the a cappella groups due to budget constraints. However, free housing will be provided for the groups.

This concert will be the first time a cappella music will be performed in mainland China.

Interested groups please contact Jamie Choi. Also, for more information concerning Greenpeace’s hi-tech campaign, please go to http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics.

Greenpeace is a non-profit organization, with a presence in 40 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. To maintain its independence, Greenpeace does not accept donations from governments or corporations but relies on contributions from individual supporters and foundation grants. As a global organization, Greenpeace focuses on the most crucial worldwide threats to our planet's biodiversity and environment.