Activist group Greenpeace has praised Apple over its environmentally cleaner iPods.

Apple said on Tuesday that it would be completely eliminating the use of PVC and BFRs in the upcoming line of iPod nano players.

Following the announcement, Greenpeace issued a statement praising Apple's move and encouraging the company to expand the policy.

"Greenpeace believes that the latest-generation iPods are significantly less toxic than before," the group said.

"Further, it shows once again that there is absolutely no reason why a high-performing electronics product needs to be toxic in order to be popular, effective and affordable. These are the cheapest iPods yet."

Greenpeace has not always been so complimentary about Apple. The group has said in the past that it views Apple as a highly influential force in the industry, and believes that the company should take the lead in removing toxic chemicals from its products and expanding its recycling policies.

Those thoughts remained apparent, even in the group's latest praise for Apple.

"We know that Jobs and his team can go even further, and truly take a lead in greening the electronics industry," Greenpeace campaigner Casey Harrell said in a statement.

"We hope that this is only a teaser of what's to come, and that we will see more of the same with all future product announcements, from iPhones to Macs."

Apple maintains that it had been committed to removing toxic materials long before Greenpeace took notice.

Nonetheless, the company has stepped up efforts to tout the greening of its products and has made the elimination of toxic materials a major point in recent hardware releases.