Fairphone is a social enterprise. We started in 2010 as a project of Waag Society, Action Aid and Schrijf-Schrijf, aimed at raising awareness about conflict minerals in electronics and the wars that the sourcing of these minerals is fueling in the DR Congo. The campaign and research into the complex supply chain ran for 3 years. In 2013, we established our social enterprise with the aim of designing, creating and producing our first smartphone and taking the next crucial step in uncovering the story behind the sourcing, production, distribution and recycling of electronics.
Bas van Abel, Fairphone’s founder and CEO says, “As a designer, it disturbed me that no one in the world truly understands how a mobile phone is made and when you don’t understand how something is made, you can’t change it. Consuming is a political act… if you have a choice. With Fairphone I want to offer buyers this choice, while raising the bar for the industry. By buying this phone, you join a movement to change the way things are made”.
More in: www.fairphone.com