How to Buy Ethical and Eco-Friendly Electronics (2025)

We all love shiny new electronics. But every new smartphone or laptop comes with baggage. Weighing climate dread, terrible conditions for workers, energy usage, and worries over hellish ewaste graveyards can quickly kill your excitement about shopping for a new gadget. None of us wants to be complicit, but what can you do if these issues concern you? Sadly, there’s no easy way to find ethically manufactured and eco-friendly electronics. But there are things you can do to reduce any negative impact your purchases may have. Here are a few ideas we’ve compiled, with the help of Tom Bryson, tech specialist at Ethical Consumer, a UK magazine that ranks brands based on various categories, from environmental reporting to workers’ rights. Updated April 2025: We added Retrospekt to our recommended brands and some useful links. Repair What You Have The best way to minimize your impact is to avoid buying new devices if you can. The unpalatable truth is that every new gadget has a cost in manu ... Read full article.