Tech companies often grapple with the issue of conflict minerals: substances mined amid armed conflicts and human-rights abuses, particularly in the Congo. Le-Marie Thompson and her company are combating the problem with their Conflict-Free Electronics platform, an online source (still in beta) for companies—and eventually consumers— to get information about suppliers worldwide. "Most of us engineers want to create cool stuff without guilt that our creations have brought about harm," she says. "ConflictFree- Electronics is something I could do to help."

Fast Company