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With the opportunity to choose planet-friendly products every day, environmental consideration is no longer an afterthought. Rejoice! Every day is Earth Day!
And our handy and ever-present sidekick (our phone) can now be a reminder that total planet protection is possible with each daily decision. A Good Company is putting positive impact right in your palm.
What makes A Good Company an eco friendly phone case contender? What is that Good Company up to and why should you entrust their products with your day-to-day lifeline?
Well, I’ll tell ya…
Our Buy Ensemble Review: A Good Company’s Eco Friendly Phone Case
Breaking your phone almost feels like it’s part of the experience owning it. But we can’t be too hard on our sometimes clumsy or distracted selves. After all, for good or bad, most people take their phones with them everywhere: we rush them out of our pockets in moments of excitement and keep them within reach for easy reference at all times.
That’s why a phone case is a staple accessory both for protection and style. A modern accessory and an expensive one at that, there are a few must-have qualities for a good phone case:
- Function: Provides reliable phone protection
- Practicality: Is convenient to carry around
- Style: Has a design we like
Unfortunately, in an effort to meet these first three qualifications, 435 tons of plastic is used each year to make mobile cases. Turns out that’s completely unnecessary. Phone cases made of corn starch, wheat straw, flax, and other bioplastics are popping up all over the place. So, the fourth must-have for the list?
- Planet: Leaves the planet unscathed
While it may not make our essential qualification list, I will say, another good characteristic of a phone case? A great conversation starter. This will be 4.5 on our list, and we’ll review each qualification once we dive deeper into A Good Company’s phone case below.
Considering an Eco Friendly Phone Case? A Few Things to Think About…
1. Are Phone Cases Bad for the Environment?
Depends on where it’s from, of course. Plastic phone cases can’t biodegrade, so when 1.5 billion phone cases are thrown away each year, that’s a lot of plastic pollution added to our already overflowing landfills. Fair to say that these cases are bad for the environment, not to mention their breakdown into nanoplastics contributes to the harmful effects of plastic pollution on human health.
But when phone cases are instead made of natural, renewable materials, they can biodegrade! From the earth they come, and to the earth they can return. A Good Company’s phone cases, for example, are compostable, so you can bury them in your backyard garden (for your zero waste fiends, this is a great choice!) leaving only delicious carbon dioxide snacks for your plants as it decomposes among their roots.
Not into composting? That’s okay. A truly eco friendly phone case (or product of any kind) helps with responsible disposal. When you’re done with your phone case, you can send it back to A Good Company. They’ll recycle your phone case and turn it into a new phone case for another planet-friendly phone owner. Plus, you get $10 toward your new case.
All this to say, make sure you’re disposing of your old phone cases properly (especially if it isn’t A Good Mobile Case). Need any ideas on how? Check out our post here.
2. How are Eco Friendly Phone Cases Made?
One man’s waste is another man’s case! Eco friendly phone cases can be made in different ways, but generally, they are created through some non plastic material broken down and molded into a phone case. This may mean a material specifically created by the manufacturer or it can be repurposed materials, dare I say, made out of waste. Yes, I know. That’s not very helpful.
Here’s a quick watch to give you a better answer:
As you can see, A Good Company uses broken down flax to make its phone cases. It gets this flax (aka linseed) from a local farmer. The phone cases are made in Sweden as well.
3. How do I Know if a Phone Case Company is Greenwashing?
Great question. This can seem like a stickier situation than it really is. The reality is that when a company claims to create eco-friendly products, there are a few data points you can keep an eye out for that will tip you off about whether their claims are legit.
We actually spoke to Anders about this on our Instagram Live, and he gave some good guidance [skip to 17:38 and again at 31:35]. In summary, transparency is a good sign.
If you can see what materials are used, where the products are made and in what conditions, and if there is an easily accessible process of a product’s end of life that keeps it out of the garbage, all signs point to go.
Ultimately, I agree with Anders [at 31:35] that conscious consumption requires just that…consciousness. And that means sometimes spending that extra minute to investigate a company’s practices and standards for product and planet.
Best Eco Friendly Phone Case? A Good Company Provides the Full Package
At Grow Ensemble, we think “eco friendly” isn’t just about a single product.
The amazing thing about the work of socially responsible companies is that they are showing that high-quality products don’t require planet destruction.
If it can be done for one product, it can be done for another. And if it can be done by one company, others should live up to the same standard. The companies that embody their mission in every decision they make and every product they create are redefining expectations for business. A Good Company fits this mold to a tee.
Anders Ankarlid, Founder & CEO of A Good Company created this company with the specific intention of joining the fight against climate change. Since mindless consumption (and the business practices that facilitate it) contributes significantly to global warming, Anders and his team are committed to making conscious consumerism the norm.
Essential in this mission is helping customers 1) understand the environmental impact of their purchases, and 2) navigate the consumer traps set up so they can avoid them and vote with their dollars in a way that aligns with their values.
They don’t participate in Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Instead they created Green November so your purchases plant trees turning the month into an opportunity to help it.
This is all to say A Good Company takes transparency and the environment seriously. They share the carbon footprint of every product—their lineup extends beyond phone cases. Once you’re hooked on the case, we’re sure you’ll venture into the stone paper notebook or their simple and sleek BPA-free water bottle…no doubt you’ll find a planet friendly option for an everyday product you love.
Okay, now that you have some context for where these cases are coming from, let’s look at the cases themselves.
The Good & Bad of A Good Company’s
Biodegradeable Phone Case
PROS
- Lots of styles— no way you don’t find a design you love
- Surprisingly comprehensive protection for falls and bumps
- Super thin and light
CONS
- Smooth texture may lead to loose handed face drops
- Not as many Android cases as iPhone cases available
- Color may fade after a while
Get 10% off Your First Order!
The world’s first climate-positive mobile case, A Good Company's mobile cases are plastic-free, biodegradable, and come in a collection of patterns and colors designed by artists from their global community.
Protection for your phone and the planet with A Good Company!
A Close Look at A Good Company’s Eco Friendly Phone Case
Style: A Design You Want to Show Off
This is likely what will pull you into the Good Company case community, so I went ahead and moved it to the top of our qualifications. For an accessory that goes everywhere with you, it’s nice to have one that creates a little edge or style to your every text.
Very often people expect eco friendly product options to come as an aesthetically inferior alternative. No, no, no. Whether you’re looking for simple solids, earthy patterns, animal prints, graphic designs, or modern art, A Good Company has you covered. They have this sleek, matte finish that looks very clean and simple. Really. You’ll find what you’re looking for. Prepare for compliments.
Function: Protection from Bumps, Drops, and Fumbles
I am the kind of person who often has too much in my hands and, apparently, has supreme confidence in my friends’ catching skills, so my phone needs ultimate protection lest I want to live with a shattered screen for months.
Good news—this ole mobile phone of mine has survived for 2 years unscathed by my recklessness.
Important for your charger and headphone plug in needs: A Good Company offers a solid eco friendly iPhone case for all apple users from the iPhone 6 through iPhone 12, from the iPhone 11 Pro Max to the iPhoneXS, and everything in between.
More limited is the android selection, only currently offering cases that fit the Samsung Galaxy 20S and A series.
Practicality: A Seamless Companion
By far, this is the slimmest case I’ve encountered that gets the job done. And as mentioned, protecting my phone is no simple task.
Planet: Climate Positive from Creation to Delivery to Disposal
A Good Company goes beyond reducing plastic waste because “sustainability” can’t mean sustaining the status quo. It has to mean going a step further, innovating ways to reduce and repurpose waste to make the things we use—with so many resources that can be used as bioplastics, why not?
Each phone case from A Good Company is made with flax left over after crops are sold. And the raw materials to build these compostable phone cases are purchased from a local Swedish farm (you met Arvid in the video above).
When you receive your phone case from A Good Company, you will definitely comment on how soft the packaging is. Yep. Plastic-free in delivery as well. Your phone case will arrive in stone packaging. These people leave no CO2 emission unaccounted for!
And of course it doesn’t stop there. As mentioned, when you’re done with your case for any reason, you can let it biodegrade in your garden, or you can send outback to A Good Company to be turned into a new case with an exchange that will give you some credit to replace it. Now you may understand why they made the top of our Amazon alternatives list!
Still Not Convinced? Other Options to Explore… 🤔
A Good Company offers the full eco friendly company package. But if you’re not quite sold on the product or they don’t have what you need, Pela is a solid alternative we like.
Pela
Pela is a well-known alternative. Unlike A Good Company who makes phone cases as a part of their everyday products, the phone case is one of Pela’s main focuses.
Pela cases make appearances within our team, and we are big fans both of the company and humans behind it. We did a full Pela phone case review you can check out if this seems more your style.
Pela cases also use agricultural waste as a core ingredient for their phone cases: waste from oilseed harvest. Founder and podcast guest Jeremy Lang created Flaxstic™ as the foundational material. This combines with flax straw, plant-based biopolymer, and recycled materials to create a 100% compostable phone case.
One thing to consider is that Pela has a broader spectrum of tech accessories like airpod cases and a zero waste screen protector. If you have an Android or Google Pixel not covered by A Good Company, this would be a solid alternative.
Maybe try them both out with a phone cover from A Good Company and a canopy screen protector from Pela?
Goodbye to Plastic Cases Once and For All!
When we can have quality products that work well, look cool, and save the planet, it’s just such an easy switch. You get the product you need and the good-feels you want. Check out our list of eco-friendly gifts for even more options like this!
Not only will you get compliments on your phone case, but (and now for qualification 4.5) you will always have a great conversation starter. Please send all thank you’s directly to A Good Company for fueling all of those welcomed and sometimes less welcomed chats about your phone case.
Annie Bright
Co-Founder & Managing Editor, Grow Ensemble
I’m Annie Bright, co-founder of Grow Ensemble. I’m a researcher, writer, and editor with a focus on sustainability, social impact, and human rights.
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