Apple has set a lofty goal for itself: use only renewable materials in its products to protect the environment and avoid “blood minerals.” In its 2017 Environmental Responsibility Report, released today ahead of Earth Day, the company said it is “challenging ourselves to one day end our reliance on mining altogether.” Greenpeace, however, thinks that’s not enough. The non-profit praised Apple’s commitment, but had a caveat: it also wants the company to make devices that last longer and are easier to repair.

In an interview with Vice News, Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environmental, policy and social initiatives, said “we’re actually doing something that we rarely do, which is announce a goal before we’ve completely figured out how to do it. So we’re a little nervous, but we also think it’s really important, because as a sector, we believe it’s where technology should be going.”

Using only recycled materials not only reduces environmental impact, but also helps prevent human rights abuses, such as the use of child labor to mine cobalt, which is essential for lithium-ion batteries, and minerals from conflict zones. (Apple recently stopped buying cobalt mined in Congo and audited its supply chain).

Other mined materials used in Apple products include aluminum, copper, tin and tungsten. In its Environmental Responsibility Report, Apple said “to start, we’re encouraging more customers to recycle their old devices through Apple Renew. And we’re piloting innovative new recycling techniques, like our line of disassembly robots, so we can put reclaimed materials to better use in new products. It’s an ambitious goal that will require many years of collaboration across multiple Apple teams, our suppliers, and specialty retailers—but our work is already under way.”

Of course, one reason why Apple is doing this is the publicity that will be generated if it is able to declare iPhones and other products conflict-free.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t say that one of the reasons that it appeals to us to use more recycled materials is that it gives us a different potential answer to that question,” Jackson, who served as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2009 to 2013, told Vice News.

This may help Apple foster goodwill among consumers, who are starting to make more purchasing decisions based on social issues.

For many smartphone users, however, a sticking point is that Apple products, including iPhones, have a reputation for being harder to repair than devices from other manufacturers. Greenpeace called the company out on this issue, saying that “while transitioning to 100 percent recycled materials is critical to reducing the sector’s footprint, it is also fundamental for Apple and other major IT companies to design products that last, are easy to repair and recyclable at the end of life.”

Jackson told Vice News that “a lot of people buy Apple products because they know they do last.” But as the publication points out, electrical appliances in general have shorter lifespans than they did just a decade ago and that Apple itself says iPhones and Apple Watches are only supposed to last three years.

Still, Apple’s promise is a step in the right direction, even if the company still doesn’t know how exactly it will come to fruition. For one thing, it puts onus on competitors to keep up.

“This commitment, and Apple’s recent progress in transitioning its supply chain in Asia to renewable energy, puts it far ahead of others in the sector,” said Greenpeace in its statement. “Major IT brands such as Samsung, Huawei and Microsoft should quickly match Apple’s leadership, if they don’t want to risk falling even further behind.”

“Apple’s announcement comes less than a month after Samsung’s commitment to refurbish and recycle 4.3 million Galaxy Note 7s recalled worldwide, sending a strong signal to Samsung and the rest of the sector that much greater innovation is possible,” it added.

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Textile manufacturing takes a heavy toll on the environment, from the pesticides used to grow cotton to the polluted water created by dye runoff. Fashion’s short retail cycle also results in millions of tons of waste every year.

Plug and Play hopes that its new accelerator, called Plug and Play-Fashion for Good, will solve some of these issues by connecting textile startups with large retailers. The program, a partnership between Plug and Play, Fashion for Good, a global initiative founded by C&A Foundation, and luxury conglomerate Kering, whose brands include Gucci and Alexander McQueen, launched last week in Amsterdam.

Its first batch includes companies that create organic dyes from microorganisms (Pili-Bio) and cleaners from carbon dioxide to reduce water waste (Tersus). The full list of startups is: Agraloop, Amadou, Dragon, Dropel, ICA Bremen, MySource, MycoTex, Pili-bio, RePack, Sundar, Tersus and Tipa

Like Plug and Play’s other programs, the textile accelerator’s goal is to build relationships between startups and corporations, says Plug and Play founder and CEO Saeed Amidi. In this case, these include Walmart and Target, in addition to C&A Foundation and Kering.

“Technology can find a better way to dye clothes or a better way to grow cotton or reuse end-of-life clothing,” says Amidi. “We think the same process of accelerating software startups can be applied to fashion.”

Michael Olmstead, Plug and Play’s vice president of corporate partnerships, adds that the accelerator’s goals is to take innovation in the apparel industry beyond e-commerce companies.

“Fashion is one of the most polluting industries and we’re looking to really accelerate the transition to a very circular industry,” he says.

Some of the startups in Plug and Play—Fashion for Good’s first batch are developing new types of textiles made from plants. For example, Mycotex and Amadou both create leather substitutes from mushroom fibers, which are not only biodegradable, but may also help reduce methane emissions from livestock and pollutants from the tanning process.

Other companies, like ICA Bremen, focus on accountability in the manufacturing process. ICA Bremen uses nano-technology to create tiny tracers that allows manufacturers to keep track of how much organic cotton fiber a piece of fabric contains, an important criteria for organic certification.

One incentive for retailers is that young consumers are willing to spend extra on brands that cultivate a reputation for environmental responsibility.

“If you look at a generation that is really conscious of sustainability, it’s millenials,” Olmstead notes, “And they are obviously the ones who are spending money.”

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