Wired
At present, the iPhone models sold on the market have been made with a large amount of recycled metals. At the same time, up to 98% of the rare earth materials have been recycled and reused. The boxed parts have also been recycled paper materials, and the surface patterns have been printed with environmentally friendly bean inks. At present, earphones and charger accessories are no longer provided in the box, only the necessary charging cables are provided.
Environmental protection policies will be further extended to the supply chain and partners
At the just-concluded VivaTech 2021 event, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated at the meeting that the new iPhone will no longer consume the earth’s resources as the goal in the future, and will be built with 100% renewable resources.
In fact, the iPhone models currently sold on the market have been made with a large amount of recycled metal, and 98% of the rare earth materials are also highly recycled and reused. The boxed part has also been recycled paper and printed with environmentally friendly bean ink. The pattern, even now, the headset and charger accessories are no longer provided in the box, only the necessary charging cable is provided.
At the same time, the box design also reduces the additional cutting and pasting process through the origami process, so that the box can be “assembled” through a simpler structure. Even the mobile phone screen used to be pasted with a plastic film to protect the design, but now it is also changed to paper and fixed wires. Or as the design of the packaging buffer compartment, it is currently made of paper, reducing the use of plastic and foam and other materials that affect the environment.
On the other hand, because earphones and charger accessories are no longer provided, the box volume of the new iPhone can be made smaller, so that more iPhone products can be shipped in a single shipment, thereby reducing the impact of the shipping process on the environment.
And Apple’s changes in product design have actually driven market players to follow up. For example, Samsung has no longer provided chargers since the Galaxy S21 series phones launched this year, and the box volume has also become smaller. As for Razer, it is also in its products. The box is designed with a more streamlined paper material, and the proportion of plastic membranes used inside is reduced. Sony has used bamboo, bagasse and recycled paper to create more durable and environmentally friendly materials as future product box designs.
In addition to environmental protection in product design, Apple also emphasizes the current refinement in the use of renewable energy. For example, it has achieved 100% green energy operation in its headquarters office, and it has also achieved carbon neutral operation performance in global regional offices and data centers. It is also planned to enable the supply chain and cooperators to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.
However, Apple’s such practices have received mixed reviews from the market. Some people believe that Apple can reduce production costs and increase profits by building an environmentally friendly image. On the other hand, even though Apple plans to promote environmental protection, some markets are still compromised by local laws and regulations. For example, in France and Brazil, because of local laws and regulations, or because of consumer protests, they still retain the iPhone 12 series. Provide earphones or charger.
However, an internal investigation by Apple shows that when many people buy a new phone, they will usually continue to use the headphones or chargers they used to use in the past. They will often wait for these accessories to be damaged before replacing them, which is invisibly wasteful.