How Second Hand iPhones Are Better Sustainable Phones

It’s no secret that the tech industry is quite polluting. The production of phones, tablets and laptops uses lots of raw materials like gold, silver and cobalt and the vast majority of these exhaustive minerals are mined in developing countries without sustainability in mind to say the least. Not to mention the carbon emissions emitted during the production phase. So, what’s your best option when looking for sustainable phones? Answer: used iPhones.

Let’s explain why.

Used vs New Sustainable Phones

That second hand iPhones are more sustainable than new ones is a no brainer. The main reason for this is that there’s no need for new materials. And yes, Apple is perfectly capable of producing new devices with recycled materials. And they say they do so using 100% recycled rare earth elements, 100% recycled thin and 100% wood fiber packaging in addition to less harmful chemicals in the manufacturing of the iPhone 11. But even then there are still a lot of unnecessary carbon emissions involved in the production processes.

Used vs Refurbished Devices

This is also the case when comparing refurbished with used iPhones. Refurbishing costs new parts and in turn requires raw materials. Using recycled parts is slightly better, however the recycling and repairing process is not as sustainable as you might think. As a bonus, second hand iPhones are usually of better quality since their insides remain untouched reducing the risk of defects, malfunctions and other errors. If in good shape, these sustainable phones last for years … at a fraction of the cost.

Conclusion

The most sustainable phones are the ones you already own - or those who were owned by someone else. But there’s no money in that so giant tech companies like Apple are still flooding the market with new phone models. We have to consider the ecological footprint of new devices to reduce the environmental impact of the phone industry ourselves. And we’ll gladly help you do that by giving used devices a second life.

Get in touch

Want to know more about our sustainable phones and other devices? Or do you want to get an idea of the possibilities for your organization? Feel free to get in touch.