Compostable mobile phone cases that help the planet are now a thing

By Holly
January 17, 2020

If you know what composting even is then there is a good chance that you will like these.

Keen environmentalist friends of ours love talking about composting, and with good reason too. It reduces landfill and incineration, is good for the land and requires very little work and resources. In fact onegreenplanet.com state that “composting is the greenest thing that you can do for our planet”.

In a world where are trying to reduce plastic consumption and it’s impact on the environment, a number of smart folk are starting to produce mobile phone cases that no longer use that material and can break down far easier when thrown away – at the same time, still being durable enough to protect your smartphone. We’ve been taking a closer look at some of them.

Organicore compostable cases from smartphone case maker Incipio are one of the more recent discoveries. As well as passing the 6 foot ‘drop test’, you can charge your phone wirelessly through the case and then when it’s time for a change, just chuck it on the compost heap that you have lovingly squodged in your garden along with the veggie peelings. If you aren’t lucky enough to own your own heap then the other option is to send it to an industrial compost facility.

As the Organicore cases are made from plant based materials, they only take approximately 6 months to break down compared to the thousands of years that it takes for a plastic case to break down.

They are not cheap however, which is to be expected at the moment, but they are tough so should last for a while. They retail at around £30 which is around the same price point as the Canadan biodegradable case manufacturer, Pela.

Pela recently hit the headlines when Jay-Z invested $5 million into it through his company, Marcy Venture Partners. This also helped them achieve Certified B Corporation status which is an admirable feat indeed. There are only 3,000 companies verified globally that meet the high standards of verified social and environmental performance and accountability required to be welcomed into the Certified B Corporation community.

They have also started a program called Pela 360 which allows customers to drop off or send back their used Pela case and sunglasses so they can be cleaned and given to someone else who needs them, turned into new products or composted.

The Pela cases are made from a mix of materials including bioplastic elastomer and flax straw rather than petroleum-based products like plastic and also take approximately 6 months to break down in an compostable environment.

So are these the only two companies out there offering a biodegradable option? A quick Google reveals a UK version, Wildcase who’s cases are made from bamboo fibres and are at a much more affordable price point at around the £15 mark and they even throw in a packet of wildflower seeds which is a charming touch.

There are also the stunning MMORE cases, which feature handcrafted tribal designs in wood as well as cases made from hemp and lavender which smell as good as they look. These guys also plant a tree for every recyclable, sustainable organic phone case they sell. They are probably the most expensive of the bunch at around the £40 mark.

Last, but definitely not least, are the totally rad Skate4create who offer phone cases created from abandoned and broken skateboards. Gnarly!

With most mobile phone users choosing to put a case on their mobile phone, its a simple switch to one of these if you are trying to reduce your own plastic use. Let us know what you think in the Comments or tweet us if you find any others worth looking at.

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