Phone Cases
As the recent buyer of a new smart phone, I am also the recent buyer of a new phone case. With all the bells and whistles of a smart phone (front cameras, back cameras, thumb recognition, face ID, GPS and more), it’s understandable to want to protect your phone. The thing is though, our phone upgrades create a lot of case waste. Every year, over one billion plastic phone cases are sold, and tens of thousands are thrown away. Whilst it’s good to protect smart phones, it’s best to do so through innovative companies using materials that can cope with the tech industry’s high turnover - cases using natural fibres or up-cycled plastic. Here are a few brands doing conscious phone cases well…
I own a Pela phone case
Pela
Pela boasts of creating the world's first 100% biodegradable phone case. Pela’s packaging is plastic free and their flexible flecked phone cases are made of Flaxstic®, a bioplastic containing flax straw materials. They donate to 1% for the Planet as well as other conservation causes. Through the Pela Cycle programme you can send in your old Pela case to be recycled into future products, receiving a 20% discount off your next order.
As well as phone cases, at Pela you can buy eco-friendly Apple Airpod Cases, Phone Case Card Holders, plastic-free Screen Protectors and even Sunglasses. Though Pela is a Canadian company, they offer free international shipping on all orders, as well as frequent discount codes shared on their Instagram page.
Nimble
Nimble makes a variety of tech accessories and they pride themselves on innovating a more sustainable vision for the tech industry. Their boast is using “better” materials for their products - materials that require less energy to reproduce, are easily recyclable or are made from a naturally sustainable source. Through their One-For-One Tech Recovery Project, they responsibly recycle one pound of e-waste for every product sold.
Nimble sells environmentally friendly phone cases as well as portable chargers and wireless chargers. Through choosing certain styles, your purchase donates 5% towards various conservation organisations. Swell!
A Good company
A Good Company makes a variety of sustainable everyday products and they boast of being a carbon negative brand. They prioritise materials with the least environmental impact, including plant waste from a local farm (in Sweden by the headquarters). Like Pela, A Good Company’s phone cases are 100% backyard compostable, and they also plant one tree for every case that they sell.
Wilma
Wilma creates phone cases that are both biodegradable (“from corn to corn”) and stylish. For every phone case sold, Wilma donates $1USD to organisations dedicated to cleaning plastics from the ocean and environment.
Why Bother?
The tech industry is infamous for e-waste (electronic waste), whether it is cables or monitors or expired technology. It’s important to think about what material our technology is made from, as well as what toll these materials take on the planet and whether they can be repurposed. Where possible, we want to avoid new and synthetic (man-made) materials and support companies who either use bio materials, who recycle e-waste into new products, or who donate to conservation causes. Technology opens up a world of opportunity for us, but let’s be responsible with our contributed footprint in the tech industry.