Let’s do a quick drawer check.

How many old unused phones do you have lying around the house right now?

Old electronics stack up over the years, collecting dust and taking over our drawers, cabinets or boxes. Eventually, this quiet flood of maybe-later devices spills out of our homes and becomes part of something much bigger. Nearly 50 million tons of e-waste is produced every year, more than six kilograms for every person on the planet.

But what if those phones still had life left in them? What if they could prevent millions of kilos of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere? Or even make a better-than-new phone a little bit fairer?

This is exactly what refurbishing unlocks. It keeps good devices in use, gives valuable materials a longer life, and reduces the pressure to make more new phones than we truly need. We can choose differently. We can choose solutions that respect the resources already taken from the earth and challenge the idea that “new” is the only way forward. As we head into the busiest shopping season of the year, that choice becomes even more important. That’s why we’re talking about this now. Not to shout into the Black Friday noise, but to offer an alternative to it.

Refurbished devices are one of those alternatives. They cut waste, reduce carbon impact and make the most of what already exists. Here are six reasons why refurbished is better than new.

1. It’s more affordable

Picking up a refurbished device means you don’t have to pay full-price, which automatically translates to savings for you. Not only are you getting the brand and model that you want with all the specs that work for you, you’re getting it at a much lower price than what you would shell out for a brand-new device, even if it’s on sale! 

2. It’s got better resale value

A new phone will only depreciate with time, with some brands losing more than 50% of its original value on the resale market. Comparatively, you stand to lose a lot less if you decide to resell your refurbished device in the future. 

3. It’s got a lower carbon footprint

By choosing refurbished instead of new, you are actively extending the life of the device itself, which means a lower carbon footprint in the long run. The most significant contributor to a smartphone’s environmental impact is its production. The longer the device stays in use, the lower its overall carbon footprint. Using a Fairphone 5 for five years instead of three slashes its carbon footprint by 28%. Push that to eight years, and you’re looking at almost half the carbon emissions!

4. It means less e-waste

E-waste is a real problem, people. We can’t stress this enough. According to the 2024 Global E-Waste Monitor, a record 62 million tonnes of e-waste was produced in 2022. That’s an 82% jump from 2010 levels. And if keeps growing at its current rate, we’re looking at 32% rise by 2030. That’s potentially 82 million tonnes. How do we stem this? Keep the tech we already have in use for longer.

5. It reduces the strain on the world’s natural resources

The average smartphone is made of over 60 natural resources, including elements like gold, silver, cobalt, copper, and more. These natural resources are not infinite, unfortunately. The sad part is when we dump devices that still work, a lot of the natural resources inside them are not recovered. Only 20% of the precious metals found in the total e-waste from 2022 was recycled, because the costs involved to extract these metals were far greater than the benefits. By choosing refurbished, you’re keeping one more device in use for longer, and one less device (and the precious resources inside) away from the garbage pile

6. It makes more sense as a starter phone for someone in the family

If you’ve got a teen at home who’s angling for a phone of their own, buying refurbished almost always make more sense than buying a new device. Going refurbished mean lesser stress for you financially, while still teaching your almost-adults more about the responsibilities that go with phone ownership.

(Did you know all Fairphones now come with a free annual ChatLicense family subscription, designed to teach new phone users about responsible online behavior? Learn more about here.)

If you’re looking to switch up your smartphone, it might be time to really weigh the pros of choosing like-new over brand new. Our refurbished Fairphone 5 comes with all the advantages mentioned above, plus excellent mid-range specs, a modular design that is easy to repair, a five-year warranty, plus software support till 2031. And while we actively encourage shopping second-hand, we recommend our refurbished phones more because you’re getting a product that has been extensively tested for quality purposes. Depending on the level of use and wear-and-tear, the refurbished Fairphone 5 can potentially come with a new display, a brand-new battery, and fresh mid-frame and back cover. From a software perspective, the phone is completely wiped and updated to the latest available OS version as well, giving you a fresh, more secure start. It’s like new, only better. 

Shop now