Is buying a Fairphone really ethical?

DomtheCuber · 2025-06-27T10:24:26-05:00

The Fairphone 6 just launched, and I love what Fairphone is trying to do, but at the same time, I don't feel like their goal of all smartphones being built to last and free from worker exploitation can be achieved simply through making an ethical phone company. Rather, I think that in the short term, we need stronger regulations on sustainability like the EU battery repairability law coming in 2027, and in the long term we need to shift towards an economic system that isn't about corporations accumulating as much money as possible though the overproduction of goods and the exploitation of workers. Until we make that future arrive, I feel like just buying a used phone or keeping your old phone for longer is the most ethical consumer choice you can make. However, I've heard some people argue that the Fairphone is doing a very good thing by showing that a more sustainable future for phones is possible, even in a system where sustainability is discouraged the second it becomes anything more than a marketing term used to greenwash the actions of big companies. And by doing this, Fairphone is not only moving the industry forward to more sustainable practices but also encouraging stronger regulation on other phone companies by showing that building a phone that isn't so anti-consumer can be done if these bigger companies, which operate on a greater scale and have more resources available to do so, actually try. And many of these people would argue that because of this noble mission, if someone has the financial means to buy a Fairphone over other brands, then choosing to do so would actually be a more pro-environment and pro-worker choice than buying a used or refurbished phone, even though the Fairphone would take more resources to create compared to a used phone and would still result in some worker exploitation (although much less compared to other brands). So I want to know what you guys think. Is buying a Fairphone really the most ethical choice, or is doing so just distracting from broader, more systemic change that will do much more to help workers and our planet in the long term?

Home
Discussions
You are here

Debate

DomtheCuber

• Published: Jun 27, 2025, 10:24 AM

Arena Apprentice

Join the discussion

Phonearena team

You don't have to change the economic system, or over-regulate the business to the point of killing innovation, in order to have a sustainable product succeed. You can't force people to want a certain thing that you think is good. If people actually care, they'll buy it. Also, who decides what is fair and sustainable and what is not? The Fairphone guys? Are they not trying to make a business out of the "fair and sustainable" gimmick, by targeting the specific audience?

Literally no one is discouraging sustainability; there isn't one marketing message out there that is anti-sustainability. What is anti-consumer about having a thin, modern, beautiful and powerful phone? One that maybe you can easily enjoy using for 5 years straight. The Fairphone may hold up well, or it may be slow or not have a sufficiently great camera in 2-3 years. Who knows. But this whole thing "big corporations are bad and want to screw you and get your money" means nothing other than "I want great stuff without paying the price". There are people who want to screw you, and there are people who want to make great products and services for you. Make no mistake there is the same mix of those people over at Fairphone, because that's a human thing, not an economic system thing.

Arena Apprentice

Latest Discussions

Old Flagships Are Awesome.

What features are most important when buying a smartwatch?

Confused Between Pixel 8a, Galaxy S23 FE, and Nothing Phone 2a – Which One Should I Buy?

Don't call a bifold a trifold