The social enterprise stemmed from the initial idea of trying to ethically obtain coltan – a mineral vital to mobile phone creation, but whose extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo creates conflict. This led to the idea that an entire handset could be constructed from environmentally and socially ethical means, with transparent pricing and production. Designed by The Netherlands-based Bas van Abel, Fairphone was unveiled at the London Design Festival in 2013, with the brand already sold out of its entire first batch of 25,000 phones. With the revenue from this first batch, the company will continue to improve the design, incorporating even more conflict-free minerals.

The first Fairphone uses tantalum from the Solutions for Hope Project – which traces the ore from two mines in the Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo – and tin from South Kivu, which is sourced and traced by the Conflict Free Tin Initiative.  The aim of the company is to change the way products are made and how the economy works, starting with a single (and popular) consumer device, in turn educating people on the supply chain of an item and awakening a more meaningful connection between people and the items they take ownership of. Register your interest in the next batch of Fairphones here.