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Hardware

Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

By Lyndsey Gilpin May 19, 2014, 12:34 PM PDT

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Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

The pieces of a Fairphone

Image: Fairphone

The pieces of a Fairphone

The Fairphone uses two conflict-free minerals out of a possible four, uses open design and software, and safe factory conditions for workers.

SEE:The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
bootcamp1.jpg
bootcamp1.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Comparing to an iPhone

Image: Fairphone

Comparing to an iPhone

A Fairphone employee holds up an iPhone in comparison to Fairphone prototype during a design challenge bootcamp the company held.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
congo4.jpg
congo4.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Dual SIM

Image: Fairphone

Dual SIM

The Fairphone, which was created in the Netherlands, has dual SIM cards.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
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Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

The Fairphone

The Fairphone

Someone holds a prototype of a Fairphone. To date, Fairphone has shipped over 25,000 phones.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

congo3.jpg
congo3.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Old phones

Image: Fairphone

Old phones

A pile of old phones that were thrown out, whose parts can be used for pieces in Fairphone production.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
ghana2.jpg
ghana2.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Recycling old phones

Image: Fairphone

Recycling old phones

Fairphone partnered with Closing the Loop, a Dutch foundation which aims to solve the problems with electronic waste disposal policies in developing countries.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
ghana3.jpg
ghana3.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Valuable piecef of old phones

Image: Fairphone

Valuable piecef of old phones

The Fairphone team went to Ghana to inspect how phone collection was managed and how community outreach is done by local partners.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
bootcamp2.jpg
bootcamp2.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Design challenge

Image: Fairphone

Design challenge

People who competed in the bootcamp design challenge in Amsterdam last year had three days to design a DIY phone that could last.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
china1.jpg
china1.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

GuoHong factory workers

Image: Fairphone

GuoHong factory workers

At the GuoHong factory in China, Fairphone and the factory both pay $2.50 each on top of production costs to put toward a worker’s welfare fund, and workers vote what to spend it on.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
china2.jpg
china2.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Testing out the Fairphone

Image: Fairphone

Testing out the Fairphone

GuoHong is the manufacturer for Fairphone. The manufacturer wanted to break into the international market, even if it was with a few thousand phones made.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
congo5.jpg
congo5.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Testing Fairphone

Image: Fairphone

Testing Fairphone

Workers at the GuoHong factory in China test out the Fairphone.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
conference.jpg
conference.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Mobile World Congress

Image: Fairphone

Mobile World Congress

Fairphone sets up at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
congo1.jpg
congo1.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Fairphone visits mines in Congo

Image: Fairphone

Fairphone visits mines in Congo

Fairphone employees visited mines in the Congo to see where minerals for phones come from.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
congo2.jpg
congo2.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Fairphone team

Image: Fairphone

Fairphone team

The Fairphone team visited mines in the Congo and learned about the life cycle of our smartphones.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
ghana4.jpg
ghana4.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Local partners in e-waste reduction

Image: Fairphone

Local partners in e-waste reduction

Fairphone team members talk to local partners in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
urbanmining2.jpg
urbanmining2.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Urban mining workshops

Image: Fairphone

Urban mining workshops

Fairphone hosts workshops and posts videos about how to disassemble old phones and utilize the parts inside, hoping to reduce e-waste.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
urbanmining.jpg
urbanmining.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Urban mining

Image: Fairphone

Urban mining

Fairphone team members meet throughout Europe to practice “urban mining,” which allows them to use parts of old phones people have thrown away or donated.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
preciousminerals.jpg
preciousminerals.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Precious minerals

Image: Fairphone

Precious minerals

At the Fairphone opening night, a display of precious minerals is shown to drive home the importance of conflict-free minerals and fair trade policies.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
fairphoneprototypes.jpg
fairphoneprototypes.jpg
Photos: Making the world’s first fair trade smartphone

Fairphone prototypes

Image: Fairphone

Fairphone prototypes

A shelf of Fairphone prototypes sits on display at opening night in the office.

SEE: The gadget with a conscience: How Fairphone crowdfunded its way to an industry-changing smartphone

Image: Fairphone
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By Lyndsey Gilpin
Lyndsey Gilpin is a former Staff Writer for TechRepublic, covering sustainability and entrepreneurship. She's co-author of the book Follow the Geeks.
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