Eco-friendly mobile phone cases
Since you've managed to find yourself here, we guess you might be interested in knowing more about how to make the most environmentally friendly choice of mobile phone case for your iPhone or Android. Super good!
We provide a list of phone cases that can be considered better products than their alternatives in various ways.
Sustainable or environmentally friendly?
The most important thing to point out is that almost no products are completely environmentally friendly, but that some products are more environmentally friendly than others. It's all about a comparison and always trying to choose the option that is the best, or the least bad!It can actually be a bit misleading to only talk about an environmentally friendly one. The concept of sustainable handles the problem of consumption better! Why? Sustainability is a comprehensive concept that is described in three different parts. Economic, social and environmental sustainability.
In terms of environmental sustainability, it would be absolutely best to minimize consumption at all costs. From an economic and social perspective, however, consumption is necessary to ensure growth and jobs. The concept of sustainability means - "development that satisfies today's needs without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs".
So this is what we should keep in mind when we buy our goods, whether it's a new shirt or that stylish mobile phone case you've been looking for for so long!
Eco-friendly or Organic?
Sometimes it can be confusing to read in both Swedish and English and understand what the terms actually mean. In Sweden, we like to use the term organic, which means that raw materials are grown according to specific rules. A product that is not 100% biomass cannot be organic. In English, however, there is the term "eco-friendly" , which has nothing to do with ecology, but rather corresponds to the Swedish term "environmentally friendly" and is a broad term that must be handled with care. The term is subjective and can mean many different things. Listed below are various child-friendly, non-toxic cell phone cases, all of which are more durable than the traditional plastic case.
Mobile cover - Recycled plastic
Mobile phone cases made from recycled plastic are significantly better than if the plastic is made from primary raw materials. To compare with actual numbers, we can compare the energy required in manufacturing. Primary raw material production of plastic requires approx. 73 MJ/kg plastic. Recycled plastic requires only 20.5 MJ/kg, which means that 52.5 MJ is saved for every kilogram of plastic. Today there is a lot of plastic scattered in nature and more companies see the possibilities in using this instead of producing new plastic. However, be careful if you read that it is recycled plastic because it is quite difficult to verify where the plastic comes from so a sneaky seller can take advantage of you. Check for certifications!
Mobile phone case - Wooden case
There are mobile phone cases that consist of 100% wood. These are extremely good from a sustainability perspective because wood is completely renewable and the shell is plastic-free. Unfortunately, these are difficult to get really thin and many shells are considered "lumpy" and lack as good a fit as, for example, cork shells and plastic shells. They come in two large parts that can fall apart during use. To make it more adaptable, you can make shells that contain both plastic and wood, which also makes them more durable than the plastic shells because the concentration of plastic decreases and most of it is bio-based. Check out all our wooden shells here!
Mobile cover - Cork cover
Cork is considered a renewable material and even renewable is a concept that can be considered rather fuzzy. Cork is harvested by removing the bark from the cork oak. When the bark is harvested, it takes 7-10 years for the bark to grow again before the cork oak can be harvested again. To compare, it takes approx. 100,000 years for crude oil to be produced naturally which means that oil is definitely not renewable. Cork shells for mobile phones are usually made by vacuum-pressing two cork plates together with a super-thin plastic film in between. The plastic film is thin but strong, which means that it protects the mobile phone. The alternative would be to have some binder (glue) in the cork but that would mean that the shell contains some toxins. The amount of plastic is very small in a cork shell, which means that the cork shell can be considered more durable than a plastic shell.Check out all our cork shells here!
Mobile cover - bio-based plastic & degradable plastic
The most common thing when it comes to plastic is that oil is used as a raw material, but there are also plastics that are based on biomass (ex: starch). So far, however, it is difficult to make shells from 100% biomass as the durability seems to be too poor. To make durable shells, the bioplastic is therefore mixed with degradable plastic produced on oil. Degradable oil-based plastic is treated "regular" plastic that makes the decomposition process go much faster. Unfortunately, this still means that microplastics are released during decomposition, so although many sellers claim that it can be put in the compost, it should be avoided. On the other hand, it is good to send the food waste to municipal waste disposal because it can then become biogas or in some cases fertilizer.
Check out all our Pela shells here!
To summarize
The absolute best from a sustainability perspective is to use products as long as possible. If you want a new shell, you can let someone else use it until it breaks. Consumption and above all waste management is a big problem that we humans must learn to deal with better. I, who wrote this blog post, work at North Ones and we want to improve the outlook for nature and people. We offer mobile covers that are made of cork, are degradable and covers that consist of both wood and plastic. We also compensate for the environmental impact we cause and a little more, in order to be able to call our site environmentally positive.The most important thing for us is not that you buy a mobile phone case from us - but that we try to become a little more sustainable together! Although of course we will be very happy if you choose to buy your more durable shell here from us :)
Lasting hugs
wish
True