The outfit, which is already in trouble over allegations that it makes its products with Chinese slave labour, ranked fourth from the bottom in a Greenpeace survey.

Only Lenovo, Motorola and Acer were worse and none of them have marketed themselves to the liberal arts set.

The report scores companies on their use of hazardous chemicals, recycling, and take-back policies and a spokesGreenpeace said that for an outfit that claims to lead on product design, Apple scored badly on almost all criteria.

Apple doesn't publish a list of regulated substances it uses in its products, Greenpeace said. It does not release timelines for eliminating polyvinyl chlorides (PVCs) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and only flogs a few peripheral items free of PVCs.

In fact the only thing that stopped Apple falling to the bottom of the list is that it does not export e-waste.

Apple said it disagreed with the report as it has eliminated cathode ray tube monitors containing lead from its product lines along with cadmium and hexavalent chromium in manufacturing. While it is true that a small amount of mercury is used in Apple's flat-panel displays, Apple is looking for an alternative, a spokesApple said.

Lenovo disputed its last place saying it offers recycling to all of its business customers and has continued IBM's Environmental Management System, a program that covers manufacturing and product design.

The award for the most eco-friendly outfit was Nokia which has eliminated PVCs. More here. µ