Project Overview

Fairphone is a social enterprise that uncovers complex systems to change how things are made. By creating a seriously cool smartphone, we’re opening up the supply chain, influencing industry changes and creating a market for products that put ethical values first. One step at a time, we’re building new relationships between people and their products in the name of a fairer economy. It’s not just a phone, it’s a movement.

Organisation

Fairphone

Team

Roos van de Weerd
roos@fairphone.com

Project Brief

A mobile phone holds a fascinating paradox. It is the ultimate symbol of connectivity, yet we've lost any connection with the source of how it is made and the social consequences attached to it during the production process. Every pixel you see, every byte you send has a whole world of minerals, factories, recycling and distribution behind it. It's time to start closing the gap between the connected world of our communication systems and the disconnected world of our production systems. The beautiful possibilities smartphones give us to share information, solve problems together and create shared value can actually be a driver to make people relate again to the geology of our digital systems.

Our vision is a new economy based on shared values. By balancing social, environmental and economic benefits, we’re establishing fairer systems that focus on more than the bottom line. Fairphone unites individuals and organizations to develop transparent supply chains that benefit everyone involved. Together, we’re creating momentum to design a better future.

Project Innovation/Need

To create a fairer economy, we started by making a phone. We uncover production systems, solve problems and use meaningful interactions to provide sustainable value throughout the supply chain. Our goal is to give consumers a deeper connection to the products they own and a platform for demanding alternatives. By establishing a market for ethical products, we motivate the whole industry to act more responsibly.

We kickstarted our production in 2013 with a crowdfunding campaign, shipping our first 25,000 phones in Europe at the end of that year.

Design Challenge

What does fair actually mean? Fair is not an absolute term and has different meanings to different people.

We are trying to find out what fair is in the supply chain by creating a discussion. This creates challenges on all levels - from improving working conditions and transparency in our supply chain to open design trajectories and attention to a circular economy.

Sustainability

Driving sustainability through the supply chain - on a social and environmental level - is core to what we do as a social enterprise. We aim for systemic change.

This results in a holistic approach to sustainability and focuses on the full lifespan of a smartphone - all the way from responsible mining to reuse and recycling and everything in between.