Skip to content

When A Teen Goes Green

About an eco-positive lifestyle

Menu
  • Home
    • What is an eco-positive lifestyle?
    • New? Start here!
  • How to guides
  • Reducing negative impact
    • Veganism
    • Minimalism
    • Zero Waste
    • Sustainable Traveling
    • Sustainable and Fair Fashion
    • Intersectional Feminism
    • Circular Economy
    • The 9 Planetary Boundaries
  • Increasing positive impact
  • Inspiration
    • Recipes
    • Hotspots
    • Organizations and apps
    • Books, documentaries, films, series and podcasts
    • Books, Films and Series List
  • Personal
    • My Ideal World
    • About me and this blog
Menu
The Most Sustainable Phone: The Fairphone

The Most Sustainable Phone: The Fairphone

Posted on June 4, 2018July 6, 2023

Yes people, the day has come. *Drums roll*. I have bought a new phone! New? Yes, entirely new. This is something that I almost never do since it’s not the most sustainable, zero waste or minimalistic option. Then why did I buy this new phone? That’s what I’ll be telling you today. Why did I buy the most sustainable phone: The Fairphone?

Why Did I Need Another Phone?

My philosophy was always: if my phone breaks, I’ll get it repaired. This would mean that I’d have the same phone all my life. That would be amazing! But for the phone I had, an iPhone 4, that didn’t work. The phone belonged to my mom first and she gave it to my brother when she bought a new phone. And when he bought a new phone it was given to me. I’ve had it myself for 4 years now, since 2014. I’ve had it fixed once before but since a few months I am done with it.

After an hour of frequent use the battery would die (that left me standing at a train station in the middle of the night with no-one to call one day), the camera was complete sh*t and the worst thing: Apple no longer supports the software. I couldn’t update apps and I also couldn’t download new ones. This makes using the phone very unsafe. It was time for a replacement.

Secondhand or New

When I searched for a phone I had two options: secondhand or new. I do need it and I can’t lend it. Secondhand is always my first choice when I buy something since it is the most sustainable choice. And still, this time I chose to buy new. If I buy a secondhand phone again I’ll have the same problem I had: the battery will go bad and the software won’t be update at one point. Apple does this very tactical, they keep making me buy another phone. I decided that I wanted one phone for my entire life. And that’s why I decided to buy a new phone. I knew that this option was available, by buying a Fairphone.

Why The Fairphone?

I bought a Fairphone 2! This phone has that one specific feature which made me decide to buy it: it’s modular. Moduwhat? Modular means that you take the phone apart yourself and also repair it yourself. If a part of the phone breaks you can just buy that specific part (and sent the old one to Fairphone for recycling) and replace it instead of buying an entire new phone.

‘A modular system is a construction of which all parts are replaceable with different models. Also called a unit assembly system’

Wikipedia

Phone For A Lifetime

That means that a modular phone can be used a lifetime. At least, that’s what Fairphone claims, no one knows what’ll happen in the future. I decided to buy this phone so that I never have to buy another one. Also, I bought Fairphone because I want to support sustainable brands. Fairphone is not known very well so when I buy it and people see my phone this will spread awareness. It makes people think and I can tell the story behind it. If I bought a secondhand Apple phone I would not be able to have this impact.

IMG_0727.JPG

Why Not An Old Nokia?

I’ve seriously thought about it: buying an old Nokia. Very minimalistic. You can call, make pictures and send text messages. All you need right? I will always be available but won’t be so much on my phone like everybody is these days. Sounds great! However, my boyfriend and parents didn’t agree with this. They want me to have a smartphone (and will buy one for me if I don’t do it myself).

I then also thought about it myself and I want to use social media better. With the smartphone I want to share more about my blog on social media and I want to be inspired by other people. I could care less about the posts about a fun party, but I do want to read about people’s experiences concerning zero waste, veganism, slow fashion, minimalism etc. These posts help me grow and give me energy! It’s time to be inspired and inspire others as well. I can only do that with a smartphone.

Finding A Sustainable Smartphone

I knew the brand Fairphone. I thought it was most sustainable and that there would be no brand that does things better. However, I did some research to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Via Rank A Brand you search for the most sustainable brand in a specific category. In the category electronics Fairphone lists highest, it has a B-label (it goes from A-F, A being the best). Apple was second to my surprise, it has a C label on Rank A Brand. I also read this report from Greenpeace. They confirmed Rank A Brand, Fairphone is the most sustainable choice.

greenelec- overall-grade-chart - klein.jpg
greenpeace-report-card

What Makes The Fairphone Sustainable

First, I would like to say that I find it hard to compare Fairphone to other brands. They’re unique is so many ways. Like I said, the phone is modular. This alone makes them very unique from all the other brands. At other brands you usually can’t repair a phone, it’s tricky or expensive. They advise you to buy a new phone. I find that businessmodel disgusting, it ruins the planet. The very core of Fairphone is sustainable. But then another thing, the name of the phone isn’t Fairphone for nothing. It literally is a fair phone. Fairphone is changing the electronics industry by only using conflict-free materials and they pay their workers a fair paycheck.

Conflict-Free

Conflict-free materials? Yes. Minerals usually have to be mined or exploited another way. This usually happens in countries where the working conditions are horrible and there is mass corruption. Often young children work in the mines and the working conditions are horrible. The corruption can lead to civil wars. Maybe you’ve seen the movie Blood Diamond. If you haven’t, you should see it. Conflict-free materials are exploited in a sustainable and fair way. People get a fair paycheck and the working conditions are good. Fairphone only uses these materials when they need to because they try to use recycled materials as much as they can.

They’re alsotransparant about their production proces, you can all find it on their website. They even are transparant about the price buildup from the phone. Fairphone uses only renewable energy where possible, but I don’t find that more than normal in 2018. The Fairphone 2 costs 529 euros. I don’t think that’s a lot for the story the company has. The newest iPhones are much more expensive. There is so much to tell about this phone and this blogpost is getting very long. For now I’d say: check out the Fairphone website, it holds a lot of additional information.

Using The Fairphone

Well, if you go from an old iPhone 4 to the Fairphone 2, you’re overwhelmed by all the possibilities. I can do so much with my phone again! I can listen to podcasts, make pictures, use social media, etc. The list goes on. The phone runs on Android and so that is something I have to get used to still. The battery lasts very long, if I use it frequently then it lasts me about 10 hours. The charging does take a very long time, 5 hours with the charger I have. Maybe it’s the charger but for now I am fine with this. You can choose different colors for the phone. I chose to have a transparant design. It looks very cool and I really think it fits the message from Fairphone.

The Most Sustainable Phone: The Fairphone
The Most Sustainable Phone: The Fairphone

Fun Fact

A little fun fact which I found amazing: the phone was delivered without a charger. I thought this was weird at first, did I miss anything? I looked on the website and there it was explained. The opening for the charger (or how do you call that hole) is pretty universal and so the chance is very big that you already have a charger which fits in your home. In most cases it would therefore be a sin to send along a charger. And they were right! I had a charger in my home that fit. They have thought about everything!

The Most Sustainable Phone: The Fairphone
The Most Sustainable Phone: The Fairphone

Update: I currently don’t have the Fairphone anymore. After 1,5 years I finally gave up. Why? You can read all about that in this post.

Do you own the most sustainable phone: The Fairphone?

Yours sincerely,
Romee

15 thoughts on “The Most Sustainable Phone: The Fairphone”

  1. セレネ says:
    June 5, 2018 at 8:22 pm

    Hopelijk gaat die van jou wel langer mee en gaat het repareren straks ook goed 🙂 Ik ken meerdere mensen met een Fairphone, maar bij sommigen zijn de vervangende onderdelen minder goed te krijgen.
    Ik ben wel fan van de oude Nokia’s trouwens <3 En Nokia heeft tegenwoordig ook een nieuwe 3310 (die bevalt ook prima) en ze gaan deze maand ook een nieuwe 8110 uitgeven.
    Maar ik doe ook niets met social media op mijn telefoon (ook niet met Whatsapp). De smartphone gebruik ik vooral voor navigatie! Ik heb namelijk ook een gewone camera 😛

    Reply
    1. Romee Hoeksma says:
      June 6, 2018 at 10:27 am

      Klopt, onderdelen voor de Fairphone 1 zijn minder makkelijk te verkrijgen geloof ik, jammer.

      Reply
  2. Pingback: Weekoverzicht #46: ik gebruik vrijwillig plastic? – When A Teen Goes Green
  3. Pingback: Weekoverzicht #50: een bruiloft én een vakantie op Ameland – When A Teen Goes Green
  4. Pingback: Je oude smartphone recyclen: Stichting AAP – When A Teen Goes Green
  5. Pingback: How sustainable have I lived the past year? – When A Teen Goes Green
  6. Pingback: Everything I’ve bought new in 2018 – When A Teen Goes Green
  7. Pingback: Weekly diary #83: Giving a lecture on zero waste at the local library – When A Teen Goes Green
  8. Pingback: Why I am done with my Fairphone and bought an Iphone – When A Teen Goes Green
  9. Pingback: What you should know about planned obsolescence and a must see: The Light Bulb Conspiracy – When A Teen Goes Green
  10. Pingback: Weekly diary #37: I celebrated Easter – When A Teen Goes Green
  11. Pingback: Weekly diary #45: I delivered my first order with Loose! – When A Teen Goes Green
  12. Pingback: Weekly diary #46: using plastic voluntarily? – When A Teen Goes Green
  13. Pingback: Recycling your smartphone: Stichting AAP – When A Teen Goes Green
  14. Pingback: Weekly diary #54: I finally have a dynamo on my bike – When A Teen Goes Green

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search for anything

Want to get an update every time I post something?

Enter your email address to subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 278 other subscribers.

ABOUT ME

 

when a teen goes green

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

Here’s what I posted most recently

  • Sustainable and fun hotspots in Ghent, Belgium
  • Crowd-funding for a better financial sector
  • Cancel culture doesn’t exist
  • Why I don’t use paper towels in public bathrooms
  • How not to die by Micheal Greger

Translate this site

Follow me on Instagram

Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) naar Bratislava (🇸🇰) reisde. Dit was reisdag 3/6 van onze duurzame interrail reis. Ik ben vandaag 25 jaar geworden 🥳. Ik hoop heel hard dat dat betekent dat ik ongeveer op een kwart van mijn leven ben. En wat een verjaardag is dit! Ik mag het vieren in Kopenhagen met mijn favoriete persoon @casperchristiaanse , terwijl ik met de trein door Europa reis 🚃. Ik ben een gelukkig mens. Op naar de 50! Dit is hoe ik van Dresden (🇩🇪) naar Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) reisde. Niet een bijster lange, maar wel een prachtige treinreis, omdat je door het nationaal park Boheems Zwitserland gaat. Dit was de tweede reisdag van onze interrail (2/6). We zijn op de helft van de interrail. Terwijl ik dit typ zijn we onderweg naar Warschau (8,5 uur vanaf Bratislava). Nog twee bestemmingen te ontdekken, maar wat hebben we nu al veel genoten. Elke dag goed en lang slapen, nieuw vegan eten proberen, bijzonder lang wandelen, spelletjes spelen, weinig schermtijd, genieten van de mooie uitzichten en zon: deze reis is genieten 💜. Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Amsterdam naar Dresden reisde 🚃. De interrail is officieel begonnen! (1/6) Vandaag verschijnt er geen artikel op mijn blog. En de komende twee weken hierna ook niet. Dat is voor het eerst, in de 7 jaar dat ik schrijf. Een heel leuk onderdeel van duurzaam leven is tweedehands kleding. Hier zijn 4 tweedehands outfits die ik droeg in augustus 2023 🌞. Je zag het al in de reel van vorige week: ik ben op vakantie geweest naar Gent, in België. Het was een ontzettende aanrader, en daarom verscheen er vandaag een artikel op mijn blog over de leukste en duurzaamste hotspots in Gent 🌆. Check it out via de link in mijn bio Gent, wat was je prachtig 🌆. Dit is absolute een duurzame vakantietip (oh, maar wees niet zo naïef als ik en ga lekker met de trein 🚃). Binnenkort is op Youtube de gehele vakantievlog te bekijken.

Read my latest posts

  • Sustainable and fun hotspots in Ghent, Belgium
  • Crowd-funding for a better financial sector
  • Cancel culture doesn’t exist
  • Why I don’t use paper towels in public bathrooms
  • How not to die by Micheal Greger

Subscribe by e-mail

©2023 When A Teen Goes Green | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes.com