Is Fairphone ethical?
Fairphone was launched in 2010 as a campaign that tried to inspire change in the electronics industry. It wanted to raise awareness about child and forced labour, which were common in the supply chains of electronics companies.
In 2013, Fairphone made its first phone. Now it makes the most ethical smartphones in the world. That’s why Ethical Consumer made Fairphone a Best Buy product.
Below we outline Fairphone's approach to some key ethical issues. To see the full detailed stories, and the Fairphone overall ethical rating, please sign in or subscribe.
You can also read our interview with Your Co-op Mobile which partners with Fairphone in the UK.
People
Fairphone scores exceptionally well in Ethical Consumer’s workers category.
Fairphone has mapped out many of its suppliers – from the factories producing components like batteries and even its packaging and labels, to the smelters and refiners processing vital metals and minerals such as tungsten and gold. For its most recent models, it has identified the production facilities for 126 of its 135 tier 1, 2 and 3 suppliers.
This level of public disclosure regarding a company’s supply chain is rare in any sector. Fairphone even has an interactive map on its website, which allows you to track the travel of different parts of its phone from suppliers, showing for example how plastics and gold ore are sent across the globe.
The company is also open about the challenges of fully mapping supply chains down to the level of metal mines, having written about this in annual reports and on its website. It is taking important steps to address the major risks. For example, Fairphone is the first electronics company to integrate Fairtrade gold into its design.
Fairphone states that it focuses on working artisanal and small-scale mining. “Often operating outside the formal mining sector (and related regulations), these types of mines offer the most potential for directly improving the lives of miners and their families,” it claims.
Environment and climate
Fairphone also scores very highly in Ethical Consumer’s climate rating. The company provided a detailed explanation of steps it was taking to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in its 2023 impact report, such as using renewable energy in the manufacture of its products. It also outlined steps it planned to take in the future, including changing its designs to be lower carbon.
Fairphone scores highly under tech sustainability too. In a sector where many devices are designed so they cannot be repaired and are usable only for a limited amount of time, Fairphone is taking a different approach. The company specifically designs its mobiles so that they can be repaired at home. It is also prioritising recycled materials, such as using 100% recycled tin in its solder and 100% recycled plastic for the back over of its latest models.
Prolonging the life of tech through repair and replacing new with recycled materials can significantly cut the climate impacts of devices, as well as reducing the impact from the supply chain, for example due to pollution from mining.
Politics and finances
Fairphone has also taken positive steps to ensure that it operates ethically in terms of its direct employees and finances.
The company is a certified B Corporation, meaning that its legal structure recognises its responsibility to people and planet as well as to shareholders. The company told Ethical Consumer in August 2024 that its current pay ratio was 6.5:1 – meaning the highest paid employee received six times the average salary of the lowest paid person. Ethical Consumer considered this to be a positive policy.
Fairphone also appears to have a positive approach to its tax responsibilities. It does not have any subsidiaries in tax havens, and although its headquarters is based in the Netherlands (which is a tax haven), it was founded and operates from the country, meaning that it’s unlikely to be for tax avoidance purposes.
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The text above was written in February 2025, and most research was conducted in August 2024.