Fairphone

Description

Fairphone is an electronics manufacturer that produces smartphones and headphones, focusing on social and environmental improvments across the entire mobile device value chain: mining, design, manufacturer, and lifecycle. They are focused on circumventing the use of conflict minerals and mining practices by prioritizing ethical sourcing of materials and fair labor practices and using recycled materials wherever possible; on designing for modularity, circularity, longevity and easy repair; and on reducing electronic waste. They also prioritize transparency, openly sharing information about suppliers and working conditions, enabling new relationships between people and their products, and prioritizing user data controls.

What Makes it Regenerative?

• enables circularity
• supports ecosystem remediation
• helps inspire
• supports open source

Business Model

Fairphone sells their phones at a premium price compared to some mainstream brands. Fairphone aims to discourage frequent phone upgrades by creating phones built to last longer, guaranteeing support for seven years, while also providing extended software updates, easy repair options, and readily available spare parts to maximize phone lifespan. This reduces electronic waste and promotes a more sustainable consumption cycle.

Risks & Limitations

• Premium pricing: fairphone devices' higher pricetag (compared to mainstream smartphones) can deter lower income and budget-conscious consumers.
• Trade-offs: to prioritize ethical sourcing and repairability, fairphone phones may not have the cutting-edge features, raw processing power, or variety of options found in google and apple's flagship smartphones. fairphone may also have to balance its own scalability with its product and value chain standards.
• Limited availability: fairphone phones may not be available in all regions or through all carriers.