Conflict Minerals: U.S. Companies Wary of Suppliers’ Conflict Minerals

Jul 9, 2014 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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Wandering into an American Eagle Outfitters store, a customer is more likely to wonder if a denim jacket will look good with a purple V-neck T-shirt than whether that jacket’s metal buttons contributed to the war chests of armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The South Side teen clothing retailer and hundreds of other U.S. public companies have been studying their supply chains for the past year or more trying to figure out whether their suppliers — or their suppliers’ suppliers — might be using minerals mined in a part of the world where armed conflict has created a humanitarian crisis.