Why I Bought a New and Unethical Phone

At the beginning of 2008 I got a new phone. This particular phone is still going strong. For reasons that escape my memory now I gave it to Teenage Daughter last year. Her phone was dying and she managed to convince me that I should get a new phone and give her my old one. The phone from 2008 is still going strong and you have no idea how many texts fly back and forth between her and The Boyfriend. We had to replace the battery a few months ago but, apart from that, it's been a wonderful phone.

Not so the one I bought to replace it. We've used Nokia off and on since we started using mobile phones. For the most part we've been happy; hence the brand loyalty. This phone was a shocker. From the moment I bought it it was a lemon. I've had it just over a year now and basically it sucks. You have no idea the number of times I had to restore factory settings on it. I'd gotten to the stage where I was doing that on a daily basis. Something needed to be done and quickly.

The criteria on Footprints are:

1. Can it be bought secondhand?
2. If not, can an ethical/eco-friendly version be purchased?
3. If not, buy the best so it doesn't need to be replaced as often.

With that in mind: 

1. I had had enough trouble with new phones I wasn't even going to try second-hand.
2. No. Sadly, there are no ethical/eco-friendly phones. It sucks.
3. I had an internal battle over which brand to buy.

I happen to believe that the best is Apple. I also know that Apple's contractors in China have less than savoury practises when it comes to human rights; that was in the media not too long ago. In the end, however, I still went with Apple. My justification is that I don't want to replace this phone in a hurry. I want it to last; I believe it will. That being the case, I'm using fewer resources and fewer people are getting harmed. I don't know how the factories that the other companies are using are doing in their human rights records but probably not good either. Basically, it's a lose/lose situation. The only real solution would be to go mobile phone free and that is definitely food for thought.

Not sent from my iphone!

Cheers.