TECH
Want more sustainable tech?
​
The links below may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through it, we may receive a commission at no extra charge to you.
Pela
Ever dropped your phone and broken it? I think we all have. Smart phones are easy to break and needs protective gear. Often the cases are made from plastic or leather. Both with their specific implications on the environment both in production and at the end of their life. A more sustainable phone case would be something like the Pela case. Pela makes compostable phone cases that you can throw on the compost pile when your phone needs an upgrade (and with it always a size change..). Pela also make a greener alternative to AirPod cases that are also compostable. The company is Certified Climate Neutral, Certified B-corp (Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.) and a member of the 1% for the Planet Foundation.
Back Market
Back Market describe themselves as rebels spurred into action by the megatonnes of e-waste that we produce each year. They fight the accumulation of this e-waste by giving expertly restored device a second life. Every device has been checked and re-stored by experts and then graded on both appearance and technical condition. Every device, no matter the grading, is still guaranteed to be 100% functional. The site offers a 30 day money-back guarantee and 12 months minimum warranty. They sell everything prom AirPods to Smartphones, laptops and robot vacuum cleaners.
100 million AirPods have been sold to date and they have an average life span of 18 months-usually after that the battery starts giving in. They are extremely difficult to recycle and expensive to buy new. Vice calls AirPods a 'tragedy' and wire cutter calls them 'trash (eventually)'. Along comes Podswap! Send in your (still functioning) 1st or 2nd generation AirPods and they will send you a a pair of recycled AirPods with a 90 day warranty. If your pods are cracked, broken or dented, they can not accept them for the swap program but they will still recycle them for free. Help keep 100 million pods out of landfills. Podswap is also a proud supporter of The Right to Repair Initiative.
Fairphone
Fairphone claim to make the most sustainable smartphone on the planet. Fairphone uses Fairtrade gold, recycled plastics and conflict-free minerals in their production and commit to Living wage bonus for their factory workers. They also offer easier repairs, possibilities to upgrade and better recycling. The main issue for us in the US is that they currently only sell in Europe, but watch this space.