Green Gadgets

Having the best phone with you in your hand is more of a style statement today. Whether it is in school or place of work, having the latest phone seems to be the new trend. If you’re anything like me, whilst buying these phones, we would only think about things like what’s the storage space like? What colour should it be? Should I get earphones along with them? None of us really think about the bigger picture, when was the last time you stopped and asked yourself “what happens to my old phone, when I buy this shiny new phone”. 

Each year around 1.3 billion phones are bought and the US alone 151 million phones are thrown away. 17 tonnes of copper can be reused and recycled with every 1 million phones discarded but the disappointing fact is that only 15% of these phones are refurbished. With new models coming out every few months, companies undergo a mining process to find the materials from the ground to make these new phones and gadgets. Not only does this deplete the world of its resources, but also uses extensive amount of fuel for the whole end to end process, leading to enormous amounts of harmful emissions.

So, the question that arises is should we stop purchasing these electronics all together? Well, obviously not. The best solution is to switch to a better solution. Several companies today opt to go make more sustainable and eco-friendly phones. These gadgets need to pass a certain checklist before they can be called “Green”. A low radiation emission, recyclable parts and longer lasting designs are some of the aspects that make the cut. Apple, for instance, aims to go completely carbon neutral by 2030 and have a zero-climate impact with every sale. The iPhone Taptic Engine installed in most of the Apple gadgets is made up of 100% recyclable rare earth elements, reducing their carbon footprint by 4.3 million tonnes. Another growing gadget company, Oppo, has been making its own effort in becoming a global and green citizen. From packaging to production to abandonment, the company has made significant changes and improvements in their system to help reduce any kind of environmental impact and global warming.   

Besides these well established and renowned brands, there are several others that completely dedicate themselves to making refurbished gadgets. Fairphone is the leading most green company that make their phones with aluminium and easily replaceable and recyclable parts. Teracube 2e, on the other hand, focusses on increasing phone mileage and released the least amount of carbon. And let’s not forget our very own, Greenmarket, that helps and supports these brands to promote refurbished and renewed mobiles and gadgets at the best possible price.

Besides phones, there are several other ecological devices that can be used in our day to day lives. From solar phone chargers to environment-friendly speakers. Keep an eye on the ever-growing list of partners being onboarded on Greenmarket looking to find homes for these products and solutions.

The next time you think of getting a new phone, think about how the action of one person can impact the entire ecosystem. At Greenmarket we believe that small sustainable choices made today have the potential to have a seismic impact on our planet in the future.