Fairphone 4 Tagline Explained
How your Fairphone 4 is Sustainable, Long-lasting and Fair
Fairphone has four focus areas when it comes to our sustainability efforts:
- Creating products that last
- Reducing E-Waste
- Fairer Materials
- Fairer Factories
For information on the Fairphone mission please click here and You can also find further information on our impact here.
Every year, Fairphone publishes an annual Impact Report which includes documentation verified by third-parties, on our company KPI’s (key performance indicators) for each of the 4 focus areas above: To read our 2020 Impact Report, please click here.
For Fairphone 4, these focus areas have been captured in the tagline: Sustainable. Long-lasting. Fair. Our tagline for Fairphone 4 reflects an all-encompassing and holistic approach to sustainability involving two key strands compromising of; long-lasting and fair. This can be illustrated below by showing what claims fall under an overarching scope of sustainability and what claims are under specific categories of either long-lasting or fair.
In the overview below, you can read more about our proof points and find links to relevant information.
- Fairphone is a certified BCorp and holds a platinum Ecovadis medal, putting us in the top 1% of our industry.
- Fairphone is a member of the Right to Repair Campaign.
- Your Fairphone device is not only about making your environmental footprint smaller but also about improving our supply chain’s resource efficiency. The various reuse and recycle programmes such as Take Back from Africa, as well as the implementation of our own Reuse and Recycle Programme ensure that your Fairphone device is sustainable from cradle to grave.
- Your Fairphone 4 is the world’s first electronic waste neutral smartphone. We will compensate (100% of sales) by responsibly recycling an equal amount of electronic waste or giving another phone a second life. Our electronic waste neutrality will be audited annually by a third party.
- Your Fairphone 4 comes in eco-friendly packaging, which means it is a plastic-free and paper-only box that is made with FSC-certified carton and printed with vegetable ink. The packaging is optimized to use it as a package to send in an old device for our recycling program. To find out more about our Reuse and Recycle Programme please click here.
- Your Fairphone 4 contains (post-consumer) recycled rare Earths in several components, for example in the loudspeaker. Other components contain (pre-consumer) recycled rare Earths, for example in the vibration motor.
- Your Fairphone 4 contains recycled tin, for example 100% of the solder is made from recycled tin.
- Your Fairphone 4 contains (post consumer) recycled plastics, for example the back cover is made 100% from recycled plastics.
- Fairphones’ modular and repairable design ensures that you can use your device for as long as possible. Fairphone devices are the only devices to have attained a 10/10 iFixit Score because the modular design prioritized key components such as battery and display, makes disassembly possible with only a standard screwdriver, includes visual cues to make it easier for the user, as well as publish repair instructions and making spare parts available on the Fairphone’s website.
- The repairability of Fairphone 4 is reflected in the French repairability Index (9.2 out of 10 for the 128GB variant and 9.3 out of 10 for the 256GB variant).
- Your Fairphone 4 features a dual-SIM – you only need one phone to do the work of two mobile devices, for example when living abroad or in the business context. One SIM card is an eSIM, which is a sustainable industry standard that reduces material use of SIM cards. The expandable SD-card storage (up to 2TB) makes the device long-lasting and gives you more freedom to increase internal memory. To see more information about the product specifications please click here.
- Your Fairphone 4 comes with a replaceable and long-lasting battery that features fast-charging (50% in 30min when charged at min 20W [with the Fairphone 30W charger with new USB-C or long-life cable]). This will allow you to enjoy your Fairphone 4 throughout the day for longer. Moreover your device features a fast and reliable chipset with 5G support that is future-proof.
- Your Fairphone 4 display is made from Corning Gorilla Glass 5 0.7mm for maximum drop and scratch resistance and durability.
- Your Fairphone 4 is the first modular phone with an IP rating. This rating provides information about the protection of the device against the intrusion of solids (such as dust particles), and liquids, such as water.The rating of Fairphone is IP54, which means the device is protected from dust-ingress and protected from rain. This protection remains even after having opened the device and done a simple repair. To see more information about the product specifications please click here.
- The longer you keep your device, the smaller the environmental footprint. Not only does Fairphone aim for longevity through its modular design but through increased software support. To realise true longevity, our Fairphone 4 comes with a 5-year manufacturer warranty (subject to terms and conditions) and software support until the end of 2025, with an aim for software support to be maintained up until December 2027, regardless of the support from the chipset supplier expiring. Furthermore, we will make spare parts available for your Fairphone 4 device for the entirety of your warranty period.
- Your Fairphone 4 runs on the Android 11 operating system, a clean Android experience without clutter and so-called bloatware. To see more information about the product specifications please click here.
- Fairphone facilitates open-source and enables openness for Your Fairphone 4. Your Fairphone 4 will be made available with the alternative operating system /e.
- Fairphone is constantly innovating ways to improve job satisfaction for workers in the electronics industry. Together with our suppliers, we are listening to workers and creating better working conditions with employee representation, income and growth opportunities. We strive to do this in a variety of ways: our living wage program, diverse workers programmes with second tier suppliers, supplier assessments including worker surveys and dialogue sessions which are verified by third parties, incorporating impact plans in the contractual obligations of our suppliers, embedding our Ways of Working in our contracts and through our Fair Sourcing Policy. To find out more about the ways in which Fairphone invests in fairer factories, click here.
- Fairphone continues to roll out our Living Wage Program, which is one of the most important elements that defines our relationship with our strategic manufacturing suppliers. This means we make a reservation (2 USD) per Fairphone 4 sold for our Living Wage Program.
- Fairphone also goes beyond the first tier of the supply chain to improve working conditions with sub-suppliers. This is achieved by the strengthening of workers’ voices through assessing their needs, building capacity in communication and (management) behaviour, and co-investing in improvements workers prioritize. Our assembly manufacturer is SA8000 certified which is the highest certification standard on social performance in the electronics industry. We are working with two strategic contract manufacturers in the Fairphone 4 supply chain; the vibration motor manufacturer and speaker manufacturer on improving working conditions. These manufacturers previously partook in the Fairphone 3 supply chain. Currently, we are re-assessing their status to define the new plans for 2022 and 2023. Our target is to have more than 50% of our strategic suppliers on board for fairer working conditions.
- As an enterprise, Fairphone is a leader in innovations around the development and sourcing of fair cobalt and responsible lithium, and participates in programs towards integrating these responsible materials into our supply chain.
- Fairphone founded and is member of the Fair Cobalt Alliance, member and holds key agreements with is active member of the Responsible Lithium Partnership and IRMA (Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance).
- We aim to sustainably source 70% of our 14 focus materials by 2023 for the Fairphone 4 device. To find out more about this You can visit Our Fair Material Sourcing Roadmap.
- Fairphone 4 contains fair materials, such as:
- 100% recycled plastics
- recycled tin
- Fairphone 4 has fair materials integrated into the supply chain, such as;
- Fairtrade Gold in its supply chain (see below),
- conflict-free and fair tungsten
In addition to materials integration, Fairphone sources from Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Performance Standard certified vendors.
- Fairphone is the first electronics company that has bought Fairtrade Gold to be integrated into the supply chain of a smartphone. This is also integrated within the speakers, battery connector, PCB and battery PCB of Your Fairphone 4.
Fairphone is a member of the Responsible Mineral Initiative and participates in the Mineral Grievance Platform which is an online cross-industry platform designed to screen and address grievances linked to minerals supply chains.