Fairphone |
10/03/19
Challenging disposable technology. An ethical, sustainable smartphone.
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I keep feeling guilty about my phone. I watched ‘Blood in my mobile’ about a month ago; a documentary exposing the link between civil war in Congo and our phones. Read my blog post about it here – Week 5.
I concluded the post by saying maybe in a few weeks I’d have forgotten about the blood minerals in my phone. But I haven’t, and began wondering what I could do about it. The answer came whilst researching for current project that I’m working on. My group want the tech that we’re creating to be for life. To grow and adapt with the user, not be disposed of for an upgrade every couple of years. Current attitudes to consumer electronics are totally unsustainable. Companies are constantly coming out with new devices with the slightest variations, persuading us we need to ditch the old and buy the latest technology. Even my last post was a celebration of updates in the world of consumer electronics. I started looking at tech as part of a circular economy and came across Fairphone. |
The companies main focus is to make sure it sources its minerals from conflict free mines – supporting local economies, not militias. But it does much more than that. The design aims to create positive social and environmental impact from the beginning to end of a phones life cycle.
Fairphones are designed to be long-lasting - both their original design and in designing their repair to be as easy as possible. Unlike Steve Job’s tightly sealed iPhones, Fairphones are modular so that they can be easily repaired. Broken your phone? Hop on the website for replacement parts and instructions on repairing it yourself. |
Okay, so I don’t think it’s great design yet. It’s not as sleek as an iPhone. Neither does it have the specs of the Samsung S10. But it has potential. While clearly not the best phone design out there in terms of form or functionality, it has an important message. It proves to customers and to multinational corporations, that it is possible to create phones that are ethical and sustainable. To me great design is becoming less and less about creating new things, and more about considering the impact of what we have already. When my current phone dies (or maybe Samsung slow it down), I’ll definitely consider a more ethical and sustainable alternative.
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