We are seeing continued acceptance around buying second-hand products like cars and perhaps more trendy these days, clothing. Back Market’s mission is to make buying refurbished electronics a mainstream and safe endeavor, while challenging customers to rethink the lifecycle of our products.

Our consumer driven society is coming to a reckoning that our planet is not an infinite resource. In addition to the consumption of natural resources for production of goods, corporations and consumers alike need to be thinking about the way we are disposing our electronics.

According to a UN report, worldwide, almost 45 million tons of electronics were tossed out in 2016. Out of that staggering amount of electronic waste, only 20% has been recycled in some shape or form. The remaining 80% made its way to a more environmentally damaging end at the landfill. While recycling is useful, it is unlikely to keep up with the estimated 4% growth rate of e-waste each year.

Only the extension of the life of the devices currently in circulation, through their maintenance, refurbishment, and reuse in one form or another, can have a meaningful effect on their environmental impact. Despite this, corporations continue to lobby against our right to repair. That is why the Back Market team continues to be a fair tech advocate.

Fair Tech means accounting for finite natural resources. It means demanding that companies find ways to minimize or eliminate the negative effects that sourcing minerals and manufacturing may have on local populations and habitats. It means educating people about the circular economy and creating means to keep electronic products in circulation longer. It demands that we be more thorough about recycling and that we start to design products with the impact of their disposal already in mind. Beyond that, Fair Tech means advocating against planned obsolescence in all its forms, whether it’s psychological obsolescence or the prevention of repairs.