34
ECO TECH
[ Words Chris Haslam ]GEAR OF
A CRACKED
PLANET
Fairphone 3
Le Cord Ghost Net
It’s hard to get all fired
up when looking to
buy a charging cable...
but with eight million
tonnes of plastic
dumped into the
oceans each year, this,
the world’s only Apple
MFi-certified charge
and sync cable made
of recycled fishing-net
plastics and textiles,
is about as exciting as
it gets – and the brand
gives a dollar to watery
charity Oceana for
every purchase.
£28 / lecord.comJuice iPhone
Eco CasePop it on the compost
heap when you’re bored
with it and this iPhone
case will break down
and return to the earth
in just 12 months – the
same time as a regular
teabag. Rated to protect
from 1m drops, it’s made
from wheat corn and
starch, with colours
taken from renewable
natural sources,
including bamboo and
the contents of that
aforementioned teabag.
£20 / juice.co.ukmsterdam-based Fairphone
started out in 2013 to raise
awareness about ‘conflict
minerals’ in gadgets, but has now
become a leader in sustainable phone
production using an increasingly
ethical supply chain.
Its latest model, the Fairphone 3,
maintains a modular approach, letting
you quickly repair virtually every
component, from the camera to the
screen – it’s the only smartphone
we’re aware of that comes with its
own screwdriver. So if a part breaks,
you can just buy a replacement, screw
it in place and you’re set.
A new 5.7in FHD+ LCD (427ppi)
screen costs £80, a camera £44, a
battery £26 and a speaker £18, while
the top module with selfie-cam and
headphone socket costs £26. It’s nota cheap phone, and the quality of the
12MP/5MP cameras can’t compete
with the likes of Apple or Samsung;
but as the tech gets better, upgrades
will be effortless.
With its Snapdragon 632 processor,
4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage (plus
microSD) and a stripped-down version
of Android 9, the Fairphone 3 can keep
up with budget smartphones; it’s no
flagship beater, but for now at least,
that’s not the point.
Fairphone is a totem to ethical
production that, according to research
from the EU Commission, could
become the blueprint for a circular
economy based on “reusability,
reparability and upgradeability of
components and software to avoid
premature obsolescence”.
£420 / fairphone.comA
Yes, we’re fully aware of the irony in a magazine called Stuff warning of
the dangers of rampant consumerism; but as the tech industry adapts
to greener ways of working, we want to champion those forging ahead
with more sustainable solutions that don’t sacrifice style or substance