Fair Materials Archives - Page 8 of 8

Tin and Tantalum Road Trip
Fair Materials 08 November 2013
What happens when the minerals, tin and tantalum, leave their mines in DR Congo and make their way into the supply chain all across the world? And, how does it finally end up in a Fairphone? In this blog, I’d like to explain the journey these minerals make from ...
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Precious Materials 101, or How Stuff Gets in Your Phone
Fair Materials 23 April 2013
I’ve just returned from a one-month trip in China, and it’s time I begin sharing with you all the knowledge and experiences I’ve learned on this journey. While I am not an expert, I have a good overview of the challenges we are finding on the way to fulfilling ...
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A Fair Price for Cobalt?
Fair Materials 14 March 2013
Editor’s Note: FairPhone asked Christian Kuijstermans from ActionAid Netherlands to write about his recent investigation into Cobalt minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Cobalt is one of many minerals in a mobile phone; mainly found in its batteries. Most of the world’s Cobalt originates in Africa, half of which ...
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Bas’ Trip to DR Congo with Conflict-Free Tin Initiative
Fair Materials 21 February 2013
I’ve just returned from a 8-day trip to DRC with a delegation from the Conflict-Free Tin Initiative! I have a lot of pictures and stories to tell, but there’s so much going on at FairPhone HQ (Barcelona Mobile World Congress next week), so for now I’ll leave you with ...
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Announcing our participation in the "Solutions for Hope" project
Fair Materials 16 January 2013
Fairphone is proud to announce its participation in the Solutions for Hope project. Working to fulfill a mission of respecting our precious minerals, we will be able to use conflict-free tantalum capacitors in our phones in 2013! These capacitors will have specific serial numbers so they can be marked ...
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23,400 kg of conflict free cassiterite exported from Eastern Congo
Fair Materials 19 December 2012
Last Sunday 23400kg of cassiterite for an average grade of 60% has been exported from Bukavu, Eastern Congo, which is equivalent to around 14 tonnes of tin metal once smelted. The tin will be used by the downstream participants of The Conflict Free Tin Initiative for producing end-user products. Part of the ...
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Just another boring abstract high-level meeting? OECD Conflict Minerals
Fair Materials 30 November 2012
Sean Ansett, who recently joined the Fairphone team (Yeah!, more about that in another blog), and I just got back from Paris where we were attending an international Forum on Due diligence practice on Tin (for soldering parts), Tantalum (in the capacitors of our phones), Tungsten (vibrators) and Gold ...
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What makes your mobile phone so precious?
Fair Materials 06 November 2012
We all know the exceptional importance of our mobile phones in our modern day lives. They’ve become some of our most treasured possessions; essential for communication, entertainment and, with the advent of the app economy, all manner of everyday activities. For some of us, they may even have become ...
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Choosing the right materials for your Fairphone
Fair Materials 05 November 2012
A country’s natural resources can be the foundation of its wealth, labour force and future development prospects – and yet these same natural resources catalyse great conflict and contradictions. As a miner in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) puts it: “This area depends on quarries and mining. If ...
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