●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (A). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
Fairphone B.V.: If ‘fully fair' is impossible, a fairer smartphone. Smartphones hide a dirty supply chain — conflict minerals that can fund armed groups, dangerous artisanal mining, child labor, and the mountains of e-waste from disposable design. Born from a conflict-minerals awareness campaign and turned into a phone maker in 2013, the Dutch social enterprise Fairphone (founder Bas van Abel) has sought to make a “fairer” smartphone. Its devices are modular and easy to repair (iFixit's repairability rating a perfect 10/10), long-lasting (about 5.5 years on average; the industry average is about 2.7), e-waste neutral, with over 70% of materials fair or recycled. In 2016 it became the first consumer-electronics product to integrate Fairtrade gold, sourcing four conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold) transparently. It co-founded the Fair Cobalt Alliance, working with artisanal mines to improve labor conditions and prevent child labor. It publishes the locations of 126 of its 135 suppliers — and frankly admits that making technology fully “fair” is impossible under today's structure; the goal is “fairer.” The letter is A; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q2; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
Smartphones hide a dirty supply chain — conflict minerals that can fund armed groups, dangerous artisanal mining, child labor, and the mountains of e-waste from disposable design. Born from a conflict-minerals awareness campaign and turned into a phone maker in 2013, the Dutch social enterprise Fairphone (founder Bas van Abel) has sought to make a “fairer” smartphone.
Its devices are modular and easy to repair (iFixit's repairability rating a perfect 10/10), long-lasting (about 5.5 years on average; the industry average is about 2.7), e-waste neutral, with over 70% of materials fair or recycled. In 2016 it became the first consumer-electronics product to integrate Fairtrade gold, sourcing four conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold) transparently. It co-founded the Fair Cobalt Alliance, working with artisanal mines to improve labor conditions and prevent child labor. It publishes the locations of 126 of its 135 suppliers — and frankly admits that making technology fully “fair” is impossible under today's structure; the goal is “fairer.”
One person’s story (N1)
+ before → after
A worker at an artisanal gold mine — conflict-mineral trade had enriched armed groups and bred dangerous mining and child labor. Because Fairphone became the first consumer electronics to use Fairtrade gold (2016), miners at certified mines receive fair pay and a Fairtrade premium and can work in safer conditions under child-labor monitoring. The gold inside one phone connects directly to that person's livelihood and dignity.
Source nature: Fairtrade / Fairphone / P4 certification (Fairtrade). Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- Fairphone scores 136.8 (median 50.9) in B Corp certification, is rated 98/100 by the UK's Ethical Consumer as “the world's most ethical smartphone,” and has an iFixit repairability rating of 10/10. In 2016 it became the first consumer-electronics product to integrate Fairtrade gold into its supply chain and co-founded the Fair Cobalt Alliance. Its salary range is 6.5:1, and it publishes its suppliers' locations (126 of 135).P1 certification / B Lab / Ethical Consumer / iFixit
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
- Improving traceability to mine level; the ratio of fair materials and thoroughness of segregation; scaling and price; independent verification of labor/environmental improvement
A second look
The founder himself admits that “making technology fully ‘fair' under today's economic structure is impossible”; the aim is “fairer.” The price is premium (€549–629), sales volume is small versus the majors, and it cannot trace the entire supply chain to mine level (it discloses this). Some materials use a mass-balance/credit approach, not full segregation. Data independently verifying mine-level labor/environmental improvement over the long term is limited.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q2 | Back to top