Today communication is next to impossible without the use of technology and one of the key technologies is mobile phones. The high demand of smartphones as we have seen has a bigger problem with environmental impact since most of the natural resources are used as constituents in the production and the electronic wastes which are hazardous to the environment. As consumers in this process we should spare the carbon footprint and push for less burdensome practices. There are a number of things we can do this including selecting environmentally friendly mobile phone brands that have similar vision and mission as ours.
Why It Is Vital for Mobile Phones to Go Green
Although it is impossible to avoid using electronic devices all together we must try to purchase devices that are more friendly to our environment. Mobile phones are produced in large quantities and are associated with the use of large amounts of metals, minerals and rare earth metals. Also, a major challenge is the discard of e- waste since the toxic materials in Smartphone’s are toxic to the environment and human life as they pollute soil and water sources as well as being fatal to wildlife.
Mobile phone production contributes 82% of the annual e-waste production. Recycling of mobile phones still has a very low rate; it reached only 20% that is, millions of mobile phones are being dumped to the landfill sites, producing adverse effects on the environment and to the health of the people. Also, the emission of CO2 in the manufacture and destruction of electronic devices is making the climate much worst, a factor that should not be encouraged.
The latter shall be devoted to environmental-friendly mobile phone brands that can be tracked down in the global market most easily
To overcome these problems some companies have come forward taking their own resolve to work on sustainability and came up with green mobile phone. Below is a list of some of the popular mobile phones that are produced by companies that have a noble cause of conserving the environment and are out to contribute to the fight for and on behalf of the planet earth.
1. Fairphone
The venture is Fairphone which is a Dutch based social business involved in providing fairly made and sustainable mobile phones. The Fairphone was initiated as a campaign in 2013 after it was realized that people could consume in a responsible manner and also produce products which are free from conflicts while also providing substantial working conditions for the employees. Its Fairphone 3 that was unveiled to the market in 2017 contains recycled plastics and tin plating whereas the packaging material is recycled cardboard.
Apart from the environmental aspect, the company facilitates the recycling of its phones by offering up to $50 for the old phone from its customers. This not only contributes to the establishment of ecosystemic, recoiling from the electronic waste but also contributes to the encouraging of recycling and the establishment of limits in consumption.
2. Solix
Solix is an environmentally friendly phone brand that majors in developing phones that are eco friendly mobiles. This Hong Kong based cell phone manufacturing company specializes in low power consumption handsets that have negligible carbon emissions and body parts that are made entirely from recycled elements. Mobile Phone X, released in 2018 by Solix, is designed to be waterproof and dust proof to mean that it would not commonly have to be replace hence minimizing electronic waste.
, it also has a different policy on recycling that comes with a zero-waste on recycling program whereby the company I Solix will ensure that all the devices returned to them will be fully recycled. The materials collected are then remanufactured into phone units that goes into making the Solix Mobile Phone X a circular product.
3. BioPop
BioPop is an Italian phone brand that stands for sustainability and durability of the device without compromising its performance. This aspect is evident from the materials used during the manufacturing process; the company uses recycled material including bamboo and organic cotton. BioPop phone released in 2019 and follows strict ecological rules – it is made of recycled wood and recycled recycled plastic.
Besides, the focus on sustainable material, BioPop also insists on energy saving where the company employs a low power processor and ensures the device’s software does not drain the battery. The sustainability part is ensured by carbon-neutral production and fully recyclable and compostable packaging for products.
4. Emerging Sustainable Brands
Some of the new brands that has risen to this challenge includes the following brands of mobile phones. There is Sail, a Swedish company that released a first phone in 2019. Sail has adopted sustainable practice in its product by using recycled plastic, conflict free minerals and low carbon emission process.
Punkt is another hopeful brand: a Swiss company that makes and sells simple and green phones. The above-presented Punkt’s MP02 was released in 2018, and it is made from recycled plastics as well as has understated design with the focus on longevity and durability and, therefore, less product replacements.
Among the companies that have developed innovate and environmentally friendly mobile phone brands may include Fairphone, Solix, BioPop, Sail, and Punkt mobile phone brands. This is why we have decided to focus on the brands that employ less harm to the environment and the Earth in general.
How to Select an Environmentally Sound Cellular Telephone
When choosing an eco-friendly mobile phone, there are several factors to consider:
1. Sustainable Materials: Models created out of recycled or at least environmentally friendly materials such as bamboo or organic cotton or recycled plastic.
2. Energy Efficiency: There will always be a proliferation of gadgets with lean power processors and efficient software to help cut the costs of energy and therefore lengthen the battery life span of the phones.
3. Production Process: Think about the production and sourcing of materials in an environmentally friendly way and know brands that are carbon neutral.
4. Take-back and Recycling Programs: Because products that offer takeback and recycling schemes are making less of a contribution to the issue of e-waste and supporting the concept of the circular economy, those are likely to have better environmental credentials.
5. Repairability and Durability: When choosing your models, choose models with components that are easy to remove and the materials used can be reused after certain repairs have been done, so that you don’t have to replace the phones so often.
If these factors are taken into account and people use enviro-nmental friendly brands of Mobile phones, an opportunity to reduce our impact on the environment could be made.
Conclusion
Appreciating the impact of a consumer society we can buy goods made by organisations that respect the nature and care about the world we live in choosing the environmentally friendly mobile phone brands. When choosing our phones, we should make sure the phones are made from environment-friendly materials, and should be energy star rated, use green power, support green production, and should be from a company that has take-back and recycling policies.
I want to sum with this that it is really the time to present the priorities of sustainable consumption with respect to our mobile phone for the sake of our planet. When promoting only eco-friendly mobile phone brands, everyone wants to lessen the amount of electronic waste going around the globe and be environmentally-friendly. Today, most of us can not live without using some mobile device or gadgets, so we must buy products that are compatible with our opinions and paying attention to the earth we live.
