Environmentally Responsible Calls

Here's something that most people don't think of: "How green is my cell phone?" Carbon footprints can be left even by your text happy fingers and marathon running mouths. Yes, you can recycle your phone by donating it after you upgrade, but Motorola has started a new trend.



Earlier this year, the Motorola Renew hit the T-Mobile stores and the first ever environmentally responsible phone hit the market. It's the first ever "Carbon Free" phone, meaning that the process used to make it, the casing and the afterlife of the phone is totally green. Here's why:

-The casing of the Renew is made entirely out of recycled plastic bottles.

-The phone is the first ever Carbon Neutral cell with green transportation, packaging and production.

-The packaging is 100% recyclable and made from 100% post-consumer materials and earth friendly ink.

Though the phone is fairly basic, it does feature Mobile Web, the longest talk time in it's class, games, hi-fi ringtones and an MP3 player. Sorry, no camera on this...yet. However, the full price of this bar phone is a grand $60. That's right, $60, or free if you sign up on a new plan. I'm sure that this eco-friendly phone trend is something that will catch on quite fast with our growing environmentally conscious society.

As a designer, I got especially excited about this phone when I saw the packaging. 100% post-consumer paper, vegetable ink, and the only plastic was a pre-paid envelope to mail your old phone, or this one when the time is up for a new upgrade. The paper is the typical fiber recycled texture you would see in a 100% recycled box, and the ink isn't raised or varnished (that wouldn't be eco-friendly). It's very exciting to see large companies making phones like this and ever since I purchased this little green bar, I noticed a lot of packaging out there is environmentally responsible. Most packaging is created from 30% post-consumer material and soy ink. Keep your eye out for this! I'm curious to see what the future of technology and packaging hold!