E-commerce giant Shopify has reported that some of its hardware products contain so-called conflict minerals. Conflict minerals are minerals originating from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or adjacent countries, and which may benefit armed groups in the region.
In this instance, conflict minerals were identified in Shopify’s chip and swipe reader, its retail kit, and its tap and chip reader, all of which are manufactured by third parties. Conflict minerals also showed up in Shopify’s collaborative mobile robot, Chuck, per SEC filing.
Publicly traded companies in the United States using particular minerals in the manufacture of products have an annual deadline to disclose the potential presence of conflict minerals in their products to the US-based Securities and Exchange Commission. If a company uses minerals including tantalum, tin, gold or tungsten and files reports with the SEC under the Exchange Act, it must then file an annual conflict mineral disclosure report.
The European Union introduced similar conflict mineral reporting in 2021.
“It’s really a question of corporate reputation with investors or with consumers. I think a lot of that pressure is coming from the end producers.”
– Jamie Kneen, MiningWatch Canada
Canada has no such regulations. However, because Shopify is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, it is subject to SEC requirements.
…
Read the full article on Betakit.