Mi

How ethical is Mi?

Mi, a mobile phone brand owned by Xiaomi Inc. is given a low Ethical Rating by The Good Shopping Guide. Unfortunately, this brand receives a low Good Shopping Guide Ethical Score in our Ethical Mobile Phones Ratings Table and has therefore not yet met our minimum Ethical Benchmark.

In which areas does Mi perform poorly?

When it comes to our Environment criteria, Mi’s Annual Report falls short. The report has little information on its progress toward sustainability, and has no actual targets; this brand cannot be held accountable for its actions. For such a large company, this is not good enough. Greenpeace also gave Mi the poorest grade of F in its Guide to Greener Electronics, which examined the environmental impact reduction efforts of 17 of the top global consumer electronics manufacturers.

Mi’s supply chains

In 2020–2021, KnowTheChain evaluated the activities of over 180 significant international businesses in the ICT, food and beverages, apparel and footwear sectors to address forced labour and human trafficking in their supply chains. A score of 0/100 was awarded to Xiaomi. That’s pretty bad.

Xiaomi and its cybersecurity violation

Xiaomi has also been charged with violating cybersecurity by monitoring users’ personal web and phone activity. Gabi Cirlig, a seasoned cybersecurity researcher, discovered that the Chinese company was tracking a concerning amount of his behaviour and collecting various types of device data. Cirlig became concerned that the Chinese company was learning about his identity and his personal life. The device’s default Xiaomi browser, which he used to explore the web, kept track of all the websites he visited, as well as any searches he conducted using Google or the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo search engine, and every item he browsed through on a news feed feature of the Xiaomi software. Even though he was using the ostensibly private “incognito” mode, it looked like tracking was still occurring. Xiaomi denied Cirlig’s claims.

For Mi and Xiaomi’s poor track record when it comes to forced labour, human trafficking, and data security violations, we have given this company a low score for Human Rights.

In which areas does Mi perform well? 

In our independent research, we did not find any connection between Mi and any accusations of Animal cruelty or welfare abuses, nor any involvement in Nuclear power or weapons. Nor has Mi donated to any political causes or provided services, funds, or resources to the defence or Armaments industry.

How can the Mi brand improve its Ethical Rating? 

The Good Shopping Guide’s score results from 15 ethical criteria in relation to Mi. To reach our Ethical Benchmark and qualify for our Ethical Accreditation, Mi has several issues to deal with, including its Human Rights infringements and lack of actionable Environmental policies.

If your mobile phone brand values ethics and sustainability, why not check out The Good Shopping Guide‘s Ethical Accreditation? Increase customer and investor confidence and stand out from the greenwash.