Talk time up to 9 hours and standby time up to 400.
It's not special. It does have a crappy camera, but that's about the only "extra." No fancy keyboard. Not much in the way of web browsing. It's fine. And it still works just fine.
Okay, now I know cell phones give off radiation and we are advised to keep them away from our heads. (I still don't have a headset for mine. Just like I rarely use sunscreen. Tempting fate?) And I know there are all kinds of environmental issues around manufacture and disposal of cell phones, the very least of which is that they are made from plastic. Most of them are also full of toxic heavy metals.
I hadn't even considered trading in my perfectly good phone (and am constantly urging others to really think before upgrading to the latest and greatest gadgets) until this morning, when I received an email from Green America (formerly Coop America ) titled "5 Environmental Questions About Your Phone Company," promoting Credo Mobile. Here's what the email says:
If you're concerned about the environment, you ask questions about the things you buy. Here are five questions to ask about your phone company:
1. How much has your phone company donated to Greenpeace?
2. Does it donate to plant trees for each ton of paper used?
3. Does it work to stop new coal-fired power plants?
4. Does it oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
5. Does it support legislation to drastically cut CO2 emissions?
Credo's answers to all these questions is a resounding, "Yes." And if that weren't enough, check out their Green Statement.
For those who don't know, Credo used to be called Working Assets. It's a socially responsible company that gives large amounts of money to progressive causes.
Beth Terry writes about finding alternatives to plastic and tracks her own plastic consumption and plastic waste at www.FakePlasticFish.com. Why Fake Plastic Fish? "Because if we don't solve our plastic problem, they could be the only kind of fish we have left." Please stop by and leave a comment!
Jordana G. says:
Beth, I have been going through this same dilemma. I feel sufficiently satisfied that I have used the heck out of my already-used cell phones. They are 2, 3 and 4 years old, all hand-me-downs, and I've switched between them over the months to keep using the least-worst one. Now it's time. They no longer function properly. I have to get a new one. I used to have Working Assets, but no one else did, so i never had free mobile-to-mobile minutes with anyone. Then someone suggested I get the phone service I wanted, and just donate money to causes, rather than the pennies of my bill that WA was donating.Anyway, i'm now getting a hand-me-down iphone... and still donating directly to causes i support.