Help Me Choose: Sustainable Phone Cases
An estimated 1.5 billion phone cases are thrown away each year and the majority of these are made out of plastic. Even cases that appear to be made from from another material, such as leather, will have a plastic inner core.
Thankfully, there are some innovative companies out there producing phone cases from other materials, which have a much lesser environmental impact. We reviewed a range of options and summarised the key information.
Pela Case, Lore and Loam, Wild and A Good Company produce their phone cases from plant based materials, and their cases can be composted. Popiscase has a different approach, instead using discarded fishing nets for their phone cases and scrap aluminium for the (optional) handles. It's surely win win to develop a product where the raw material is the result of ocean clean-up!
WAVECASE
Wavecase is a UK designed wheat straw phone case. Fully compostable and supplied in 100% plastic free packaging, they tick a lot of boxes for us.
Certified B Corp
Material
Compostable
Recyclable
Charitable donations
Shipping
Price
Support this
business
No
Wheat Straw
Yes
Unknown
Donate to Surfers against sewage
Ship from UK. Unknown manufacturing origin
£15
PELA CASE
Pela's stylish phone cases are made of Flaxstic®, a unique blend of plant-based biopolymer mixed with flax shive, an annually renewable waste by-product of the flax oilseed harvest in Canada. The cases a compostable and break down into carbon, water, and organic biomass. Their packaging material is plastic-free and cases are shipped in a 100% recycled and recyclable paper envelope from Canada. Pela's base material does not contain BPA, lead, cadmium and phthalates making their cases family-safe. Their cases are made ethically with fair wages and safe practices across the entire process and Pela is a proud member of 1% for the Planet.
Certified B Corp
Material
Compostable
Recyclable
Charitable donations
Shipping
Price
Support this
business
Yes
45% plant based
Yes
Unknown
None
Shipped from USA
£40 BOGOF
A GOOD COMPANY
A Good Company mobile phone cases are 100% plastic-free. Their beautiful phone cases are made in Sweden from linseed plant waste grown by a local farmer close to the company’s headquarters. They home compostable and certified by the Vegan Society so are truly environmentally friendly. Cases can be swapped and recycled at any time via their circularity program, demonstrating their commitment to the circular economy. In addition, the company plants one tree per case sold. For each phone purchased, they donate 4% to A Good Foundation, which works with communities across the globe to create a positive impact through different sustainable initiatives.
Certified B Corp
Material
Compostable
Recyclable
Charitable donations
Shipping
Price
Support this
business
Yes
Linseed plant waste
Yes
Cases can be recycled via the circularity program, or can be exchanged for a $10 dollar credit/part exchange.
Donate 4% of sales donated to 'A Good Foundation' running sustainable initiatives
Manufactured in Sweden. Plant one tree per case sold
£31
WILD
Wild’s sturdy, sleek phone cases are made from a proprietary blend of biopolymers, starch, and bamboo, and are fully compostable – breaking down into carbon dioxide, water, and other naturally occurring minerals that easily mix back into earth. They donate 1-5% of profits to The Ocean Clean-up, an organisation that develops advanced technologies to aid ocean clean-up. It’s great news for UK customers as you can simply put it in your green bin, which is picked up every week! They pride themselves in their simple packaging, using only a cardboard envelope and a small Kraft paper envelope for the wildflower seeds. All of their packaging can be recycled.
Certified B Corp
Material
Compostable
Recyclable
Charitable donations
Shipping
Price
Support this
business
No
Biopolymers, Starch, and Bamboo
Yes. 12-24 months in home compost bin. Can be disposed of in general waste bin.
Unknown
Donate 1-5% of profits to The Ocean Cleanup. Send flower seeds with each purchase.
Ship from UK. Unknown manufacturing origin.
£12.50
LOAM AND LORE
Beautifully designed and eco-friendly cases that compost down within 6 months in an industrial composting environment, or you can throw them in your garden compost and they will biodegrade within 24 months. Their plant-based cases only contain environmentally-friendly materials and do not contain BPA, phthalates, cadmium or lead, plus they are 100% vegan. All of Loam and Lore’s phone cases are shipped in simple recyclable packaging, with no plastic tape so that zero waste is produced throughout your case’s life. If that wasn’t enough, their ‘Amazon Rainforest’ collection raises money for The Amazon Conservation Team, with 10% of profit from each sale being donated to this charity.
Certified B Corp
Material
Compostable
Recyclable
Charitable donations
Shipping
Price
Support this
business
No
Blend of bio-plastics (PBAT, Biodegradable TPU, PLA) and wheat straw fibres
Yes. 90-120 days in industrial composter & 12-24 months at home. Can be disposed of in general waste.
Unknown
10% of profits from select cases to The Amazon Conservation Team
Ship from UK. Unknown maufacturing origin
£20
POPSICASE
POPSICASE’S innovation is genuinely exciting. Their phone cases are made in Spain from abandoned fishing nets and scrap aluminium, helping to reduce the waste in our seas and on land. Not only are their phone cases sustainably made, but they can also be recycled! If you return your case to them, they will crush the phone case and mix the resulting material with their NET VIVA Material, made 100% from fishing nets, to make a new POPSICASE. Due to this commitment to the circular economy, POPSICASE has been Cradle to Cradle Certified. If that’s not enough they compensate the CO2 emissions of the shipping with the project CeroCO2. Simply brilliant.
Certified B Corp
Material
Compostable
Recyclable
Charitable donations
Shipping
Price
Support this
business
No
Abandoned fishing nets and scrap aluminium
No
Yes - A Cradle to Cradle Certified Product
None
Compensate shipping CO2 emissions via project CeroCO2
£26
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According to the United Nations Environment Programme, more than 99% of plastics today are produced from non-renewable sources such as natural gas, oil and coal. Of all the plastics that have ever been produced, just 9% has been recycled, 12% has been incinerated and the rest – 79% – has ended up in landfills or as pollutants in the environment, both on land and in our seas. Of that 79%, an unknown amount enters the environment as microplastics which go undetected.
Plastic phone cases are a growing part of the plastic pollution crisis, and will potentially grow significantly if nothing changes. Phone cases cases designed for older phones typically won’t fit newer ones, which is one of the contributing factors. So now is the time to reduce your environmental footprint and switch to a more sustainable option.