Retailers Fight to Escape ‘Conflict Minerals’ Law

Top U.S. retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. are battling to limit a new federal law that could force them to report whether their store-brand goods contain minerals from war-torn Central Africa. The requirement, part of the Dodd-Frank financial law passed in July, aims to pressure companies to spurn so-called conflict minerals–tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold from parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo or neighboring countries. Income from those minerals is blamed for fueling violence that has claimed millions of lives in eastern Congo, which a senior United Nations official recently branded the world’s rape capital. Under the new law, public companies using any of the four minerals from Central Africa must report what steps they have taken to verify the minerals weren’t taxed or controlled by rebel groups. Products that don’t contain minerals that benefited such groups can bear the label “DRC conflict free.” Companies that fail to verify their sources can still sell their products, but could face embarrassment. Image: endofcapitalism.com. More…

News selected by Covalence | Country: global | Company: Motorola, Best Buy, J.C. Penney, Costco Wholesale, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, Target | Source: The Wall Street Journal