Fairphone: Are you concerned about the "journey" of the mobile phone you hold in your hands, the materials used to manufacture it, and the working conditions of the people who assembled it?
«Every now and then you read something about the “blood‑soaked metals” of Africa or the suicides at Foxconn» says Nasos Katsamanis about the Taiwanese conglomerate that assembles products for electronics giants such as Apple, Sony and Nokia in China employing 1,2 million workers.
From the covered balcony of Met's you can see the city's apartment blocks climbing the slopes of Mount Hymettus. The floor of the apartment is scattered with wooden toys of his son who, before turning 2, already knows how to separate waste from recycling.
«It is important to know that whatever you consume, the way you live, in the final analysis, does not burden anyone else or the environment» says the 34‑year‑old researcher, electrical‑mechanical engineer at NTUA. In the palm of his hand he holds a Fairphone, the first “ethical» smartphone on the market, which reached his hands a few days ago from the Netherlands.
Fairphone was created as a reaction to the fact that the minerals used for manufacturing phones and other electronic devices come from disputed or war zones such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and that their assembly takes place in factories with controversial labor and environmental standards. The eponymous company assures that the copper and tantalum used in the device come from mines that are not controlled by paramilitary groups (conflict-free).
«As soon as I saw such an effort I identified with it to some degree, even though it is still in the early steps» says Katsamanis about Fairphone, which started as a public awareness campaign in 2010 before becoming a social enterprise three years later.
Fairphone, which also manufactures its phone in China, has created a fund aimed at improving working conditions and employee wages. For each device produced there, the company and the factory invest €2.5 into the fund. At the same time, the company strives to maintain as much transparency as possible by publishing regular assessments of the factory.
The phone adopts the most common standards, such as Android operating system and micro-USB port (the charger is not even included in the package, assuming every household has one in a drawer), and it has a slot for 2 SIM cards and a removable battery. It can be upgraded, repaired (problem: it must be sent to the Netherlands) and, when the time comes, recycled by being mailed free of charge to the company. Everything is designed with waste reduction in mind. It is estimated that about 140 million devices end up in landfills each year just in the USA.
"I like this logic. Like in the old desktops, where you opened them up, changed the motherboard, upgraded them, or added memory to them yourself," says Katsamanis.
Fair economy
From the company's offices in Amsterdam, communications manager Daria Koreniushkina does not hide her enthusiasm for the project. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, the company has now deployed over 55,000 devices within 1.5 years. However, the mobile phone is not the sole purpose, clarifies the Russian, one of the 31 staff members who come from 14 countries.
«The phone is more a medium to tell a story. It talks about the big picture, about what happens inside a device, the complex production process and the problems associated with it», says.
«Our ultimate purpose is to create a fairer economy and our example to inspire the whole industry to make changes in the supply chain».
Law signed by the Obama administration in 2010, requires American companies to report the origin of the minerals they use in their products, and a traceability system has been put in place by the United Nations. Companies such as Apple and Samsung have taken some steps in this direction, but claim that origin certification is not always feasible due to the many intermediaries in the production process.
«We realize that at this moment we are very small and that we cannot overturn the situation on our own. I wish other companies would also contribute to the effort. It would mean that we have completed our mission», says Koreniushkina.
Doesn't it mean that Fairphone would also become, in some way, redundant?
«When other companies also start manufacturing their own “ethical” phones, we will compete with them on “ethical” specifications rather than on market share terms» says, adding that the construction of a 100% ethical phone is practically impossible, as there are thousands of specifications that can be improved.
Is Fairphone a luxury choice for affluent Westerners without any real survival issues?
«One of the things we want to prove is that “ethical” production is not necessarily more expensive.
The Fairphone is not more expensive than other mid-range phones» says Koreniushkina. The price of the phone, which is available only in Europe, is 325 euros. Back in Athens, Katsamanis believes that the economic crisis is not an obstacle to the phone's success.
«I don't think things would be different if the world were more comfortable. On the contrary, the crisis could make some people wonder, think that the real cost is not the price of the phone. The point is to think about things chainwise, in a global context».
Looking at the numbers, few seem to do it. Only 21 orders have been placed from Greece so far.
www.fairphone.com #WeAreFairphone
Source: kathimerini.gr
