Fairphone
The world's first ethically-sourced phone
Fairphone is a social enterprise that is building a movement for fairer electronics. By making a phone, they’re opening up the supply chain and creating new relationships between people and their products. They’re making a positive impact across the value chain in mining, design, manufacturing and life cycle, while expanding the market for products that put ethical values first. Together with the local communities, they’re changing the way products are made.
“Impossible were instrumental in the success of the movement.”
Bas van Abel - Founder and CEO
Changing the way products are made
What would happen if you made a phone that was 100% modular and 100% open-source?
What if you built it with ethically sourced materials?
What if you tried to build it with social values?
Fairphone is a social enterprise that is building a movement for fairer electronics. In our partnership with Fairphone at the beginning of their journey, we created the Fairphone Updater which empowers people to keep their phone up-to-date as well as install other operating systems if desired contributing to the longevity of the phone and providing a simple and meaningful experience.
We also enhanced the software to allow for faster access to what and who is important. We helped people understand data transparency and added simplified experiences to reduce the overwhelming clutter that was present in Android operating systems at the time.
A phone to feel good about
Every year, consumers throw away millions of mobile phones. This is because most phones aren’t built to last and we have a desire to constantly upgrade our devices. Some of these discarded phones are properly recycled, but others end up in landfills or are recycled under dangerous working conditions. At the same time, new products are continuously manufactured to keep up with demand for the “latest thing.”
The Fairphone is built in a modular way, making it easy to repair and replace components, thereby extending the phone's lifespan.
We believe in the mission behind Fairphone: to put social values first. We wanted to contribute to this movement and change the way products are made.
Developing sustainable values into a simplified experience
We wanted to make sure the way a Fairphone device is used leads to a healthier and more creative lifestyle whilst ensuring a fairer electronics industry and giving a voice to the people involved in the supply chain.
Impossible’s Planet Centric Design methodology works by developing solutions to individual problems that have wider planetary benefits. Using the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a guide, we think carefully about designing products and services that contribute to these larger planetary objectives.
Fairphone directly contributes to nine SDGs including no poverty, gender equality, decent work and economic growth. By creating a sustainable smartphone, they are demonstrating the endless possibilities for a fairer future for all.
Read Fairphone’s 2021 Impact Report here.
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