The 5 best green phone cases of 2022: Sustainable cases
You may not normally obsess over phone cases. But when you consider that 1.5 billion of them, made of plastic, are tossed into the trash every year and end up on landfills, you may change your mind. In fact, 80% of the total amount of plastic ever produced lies in landfills today, waiting patiently for another 1,000 years to disintegrate.
This is why it’s exciting to see innovative case companies take a stab at using unique materials and processes that allow them to tread lightly on the Earth. Some employ linseed plants, others flax or bamboo, and a few even use recycled plastic derived from CDs, fishing nets, and PET bottles. You can also find some mini works of art here.
The real reason these companies stand above their peers, however, is because they’re doing all of this while being recognized by the most respected stewards of the land — such as B Corp, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Carbon Neutral, and Cradle to Cradle, amongst others. Their endorsements are supremely tough to get, but if you’re able to, they will give your brand instant credibility.
For example, bamboo used in a phone case could have come from an endangered animal habitat or employed children to harvest it, and you would never know. With an FSC badge — or tips from our list — you can sleep better knowing you made the Earth a little greener.
Also: The best green phones: Sustainable and eco-friendly smartphones
Tech specs
- Compostable
- Made entirely from waste linseed plants
- Cover printed with water-based inks
Based in Sweden, A Good Company checks off all the boxes that make it the leader on this list. Its cases are beautiful, reasonably-priced, and because they are made out of organically grown linseed plants sourced from a local farm, they are completely compostable. Its factory, the company says, uses renewable energy, little water, and no chemicals.
Printed with water-based inks, A Good Company’s cases are gorgeously-rendered mini art pieces. Shipping is not only free but import duties are already factored in. Plus, cases arrive in North America in just a few days.
The company has endorsements from many of the global temples of sustainability: it is a certified B Corporation, has a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) stamp, is a Circular Economy company (you get 10 Euros towards a new case if you mail your old one back), and even neutralizes its shipping with carbon offsets.
Pros
- Very transparent about process
- B Certified Corp, Cradle to Cradle, The Vegan Society, FSC
- Cases are works of art
Cons
- Not widely available
- Limited models
Tech specs
- Made of plant-based bioplastic
- Compostable
- Textured grip
If not for its pricing, Pela could have been at the top of this list. It is the pioneer in compostable phone cases, having started its business over a decade ago. Its design offerings are eclectic and cater to a wide array of phones.
Pela’s cases are made of Flaxstic: a proprietary combination of flax waste and a plant-based biopolymer that can be either composted in an industrial facility or your backyard. Breaking it down at home will apparently take 6 to 12 months to biodegrade. It has all the sought-after international standards that would make any company green with envy.
Pela’s cases are soft, can survive six-foot falls, and are free of harmful phthalates, BPA, cadmium, and lead that most plastic cases leach into the ground. They don’t come cheap, but they can be mailed back to the company to be recycled for a 20% discount. Buying one also triggers a 5% donation to ocean conservation causes like Save the Waves Coalition, the Surfrider Foundation, and Oceana.
Pros
- Can compost in your backyard or industrial facility
- Wide range of colors and styles
- Six-feet drop protection
Cons
- Expensive
- Cannot be recycled
Tech specs
- Made of recycled CDs as well as PET bottles
- Impressive 15-foot drop test
- Made of recycled CDs and PET bottles
Remember all those N’Sync CD cases from yesteryear that you banished to your attic or your basement? Well, toss them to Nimble, a company that will take the sturdy plastic and re-engineer it into an attractive, recyclable clear case for your iPhone. It also mashes together three types of recyclable plastics, which includes PET bottles.
At a marked-down $25 a pop right now, Nimble’s cases are a steal, fortified further by a two-year warranty. It also offers e-waste recycling for your phone through Homeboy Electronics Recycling, a data-secure certified B Corp outfit that provides jobs to those facing systemic barriers to employment.
With 5% of its sales awarded to environmental programs such as the Carbon Fund, SeaSave.org, and Coral Reef Alliance, Nimble is hard-to-beat for the climate-conscious consumer. If only they made them for Androids phones as well.
Pros
- Very strong, tough to scratch
- Two-year guarantee
- Made of recycled CDs and PET bottles
- Certified B Corp
Cons
- Doesn’t ship internationally
- Apple cases only
- Limited designs
Tech specs
- Made entirely of abandoned fishing nets
- Comes with an optional, popsicle-like retractable handle
- Completely recyclable
It is enough of a feat that Spain-based Popsicase utilizes 40,000 tons of scrap aluminum as well as ghost fishing nets — those abandoned in the oceans that kill marine life every day — to make their cases.
However, Popsicase’s products go further — they are simply stunning. Each collection, like the Barcelona cityscape line or the undersea collection, is designed in collaboration with an artist.
After the nets are collected, washed and transformed into recycled plastic pellets, Popsicase uses 50g of this recycled plastic and another 20g of scrap aluminum to bring you a further-recyclable phone cover with an option for a popsicle-like retractable handle that gives you an enhanced grip. Cradle to Cradle certified, it even compensates for CO2 emitted while shipping the product to you. Unfortunately, Android users will not be able to enjoy them.
Pros
- Stunning artwork
- Cradle to cradle certified
- 25% discount if you return your old one
Cons
- Not widely available
- Limited ways to recycle cases
- Only for iPhone
Tech specs
- Built to breakdown in landfills and in water
- Most cases are also recyclable
- 6- to 10-feet drop protection, depending on the case
Toto-Toa is the trademarked miracle substance employed by US phone maker Pivet, allowing its cases to vanish into the soil in under two years. It is injected into the non-toxic plastic that forms the case, instantly making it irresistible to microbes — who then gobble up carbon and secrete an acid thats eats the material into nothingness.
In other words, unlike other compostable cases, you can toss Pivet case into your local landfill (which chronically lacks oxygen needed for composting) or drop it into your recycling bin. Either way, you’ve done the right thing. If you’ve accidentally dropped it into a river or the ocean, the microbes will still be able to do their job. In other words, there’s not much you can do wrong to make this case vanish.
Pivet has been given a seal of approval by product-testing and certification company Intertek. The Black owned company created a Rosa Parks line, named ‘Nah,’ for Black History Month. One of its other lines is in a startling blue hue, referencing the color that coral turns into when it struggles to survive heatwaves caused by climate change.
Pros
- Most versatile self-destructing capabilities
- Tough to scratch
- Validated by global certification outfit Intertek
- Transparent about its process
Cons
- Caters to limited devices
- Needs more endorsements from eco agencies
A Good Company was chosen as our best green phone case. The company achieved the highest global certifications and standards that measure social and environmental impact, offers beautiful, compostable cases for a modest price, is exhaustively transparent about both materials used as well as its production process, has a negative carbon footprint, works with a highly-localized supply chain, and offers excellent resources on its website to educate consumers about the sustainable eco-system.
|
Green phone case |
Price |
iPhone + Android? |
Variety (Design + Colors) |
|
A Good Company |
$34.99 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Pela |
$59.99 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Nimble |
$49.99 |
iPhones only |
No |
|
Popsicle |
$35 |
iiPhones only |
Yes |
|
Pivet |
$35 |
Yes |
No |
Which green phone case to chose depends on your priorities. You may be on the lookout for ones that consist of organic, compostable material, such as flax and linseed plants, or may prefer those that utilize recyclable plastics. Some case makers don’t cater to Android users, while some that do may have limited models. You may prefer a simple but elegant case with one solid color or unique artwork. There’s something for everyone here.
|
Chose this green phone case…. |
If you need…. |
|
A Good Company |
A high-quality compostable case for a modest price |
|
Pela |
A large selection of attractive designs, colors, and phone models for compostable cases |
|
Nimble |
A recyclable case made of CDs or other plastics that looks modern and sleek |
|
Popsicle |
A case with gorgeous artwork for a modest price |
|
Pivet |
A case that can be recycled as well as broken down in a landfill |
We scoured the landscape looking for self-described sustainable, green phone cases that then met the following criteria:
They had to have passed stringent certification by leading environment and social impact organizations. Case makers needed to be highly transparent in materials used and their production process. Cases needed to be reasonably priced. They also had to demonstrate high aesthetics in artwork and design. All of these needed to be further bolstered by partnerships and commitments that promote sustainable living and a healthy planet.
No, they are not the same.’Biodegradable’ can often be a misleading term. Most biodegradable products do breakdown but may, like plastics, take hundreds or thousands of years. On the other hand, compostable products will fully break down in a year or so, but will only do so in a proper composting environment.
Scan the company’s website to see what kind of plastics the case is made of. A multitude of different plastics melded together will often not be recyclable. Check to see if the makers allow the phone to be sent back to the company. This is the best possible outcome that establishes a ‘loop’ for a product, further iterations of which don’t need any additional resources (this is also dubbed ‘Cradle to Cradle’). Or check if it can be tossed into the recycling bin; if so, it should have a recycle symbol on it. Look to see if the case has passed industry standards that will validate the production process.
Maybe. Look for a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) badge awarded to the company that will certify the materials have all been sustainably and ethically managed and harvested, or ask the company how it sources its material.
There are a few that seem promising. However, they didn’t make our list mostly because of the absence of detail and transparency about materials or processes used — which the ones on our list did furnish, and in great detail. These companies did not appear to receive the environmental and social impact certifications that the ones on our list possess.
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