The best phone accessories are from the central region.
We're getting better at learning how to get the accessories we need for the best phones without sacrificing our commitment to the environment. These cases, chargers, and accessories are made with renewable materials. Here are the most eco-friendly phone accessories you can buy.
The three former Mophie employees who founded Nimble know how to make great charging and cables. This cable is made from recycled plastic and aluminum and comes with a bag for you to recycle old tech.
PopSockets are fun, but plastic isn't usually an eco-friendly material. The team at PopSockets wanted to create a product that was made with sustainable materials. There are four transparent colors you can choose from, or you can make a custom PopGrip Earth with your own photo.
At PopSockets, it's from $15
One of the earliest options was Pela. It still has the best selection of cases for both the iPhone and the other phones. There are several lines of Pela cases today, including artist series, clear series, and charity series.
The top of the wireless charging pad is recycled and it supports both fast and slow wireless charging. You get a recycled bag to ship e-waste out for recycling, and a 20W wall charger in the box so that you won't have to scramble to find a compatible one.
$50 at Best Buy.
I'm happy to report that Incipio's Organicore cases are made of 100% compostable, plant-based materials and are quite fetching. It's available for the S20 and S21 series. I'm hoping that it will make its way to the new phones like the Pixels and other phones, as well as giving us more color options.
I'm happy that leather is recycled, it means that you can get a charging pad that is high-quality and can charge four phones at the same time, with two on the pad and two plugged into the ports. It's great to be able to toss down two phones and earbuds.
$100 at Nomad.
Lifeproof is proud of its overprice, overhyped sports cases, but the praise is deserved for the Wake. The case is made of 85% recycled ocean-based plastic and is available for the Apple iPad, the S21 Series, and the Pixel 5 and 4a 5G.
Great for you, great for the planet.
I'm happy to see more eco-friendly phone accessories. Tech21 has several series of Eco-friendly cases, but they're mostly limited to iPhones right now. Kerf and Carved make one-of-a-kind cases and even wireless charging stations, and I have had a Kerf wireless charging station on my nightstand for years.
It is more difficult to find sustainable cables. I would just as soon you buy the most durable, long- lasting cable you can and take good care of it, rather than trying to find an inferior cable that uses recycled materials. The most important part of buying eco-friendly today is buying something that won't end up in a landfill in a year or two, and that's what the Nomad Wireless Charger is.
There are other ways to be eco-friendly with tech purchases.
If you can't find an eco-friendly solution for your tech means, all is not lost. It means that you need to follow three other guiding principles when shopping for technology.
Don't buy a new one until the old one breaks. Do you want to reduce the amount of waste? Don't buy tech that you don't need. I have a drawer full of cables that I open at least four times a year. Don't buy a new cable if you already have one. This is double for power banks and headphones that need to hold a charge. If left unused with full cells, these devices will lose their charging capacity over time, so they don't like being left to rot.
Don't buy anything that uses micro-usb again. You will be able to charge more of your tech with one cable. Less cables means less things that need to be bought or thrown out. If it uses micro-USB or mini-USB, use your current one until it breaks, then buy a one that uses the newusb-c.
Purchase something that will last. My Kerf Wireless Charging Block has lasted me longer than any other in my apartment. My favorite headphones have been with me for five years. If you buy something that is reliable, you can avoid having to replace it for as long as possible, limiting the e-waste you produce as well as saving money.
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