Phone Accessories Made From Recycled and Plant-Based Materials?

By Brendan Menapace

Eco-friendly options like recyclable straws, canvas tote bags and reusable water bottles have become increasingly popular in the promotional space thanks to society's growing interest in environmental sustainability. At the same time, our dependence on electronics and technology has grown, too, and now those two lines have crossed.

Since we're all charging items like smartphones, tablets and gaming devices all the time anyway, why not make them as eco-friendly as possible?

A company called Nimble, created by the same people behind Mophie wireless charging accessories, is making environmentally-friendly smartphone accessories, like wireless charging pads and portable chargers.

What sets the company apart from others is that its tech accessories are made from sustainable materials such as plant-based bioplastics, hemp fabrics, recycled plastic bottles and recycled aluminum, according to Engadget. Rather than using harmful paints for decoration, the company is using a speckled thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) texture. Also, it is using 100 percent compostable and plastic-free packaging.

Not to sound hyperbolic, but this is the future. Tech accessories like power banks and wireless chargers aren't going anywhere as long as we have smartphones—and let's be real, we're always going to have them (or something like them). Also, the shift toward sustainably manufactured products isn't ending any time soon, either, so it's absolutely not out of the question to think that the marriage of the two will be where we go from here on out.

Former Mophie Employees Launch New Eco-Friendly Charging Accessory Brand 'Nimble': A trio of former Mophie/Zagg employees today launched a new accessory brand called "Nimble," which is aimed at crafting smartphone and tech accessories that are… https://t.co/SYQGE79c1F pic.twitter.com/uo2uRioRY1

— iLadies (@iladiesme) August 29, 2018

Especially when they're relatively affordable and universal. Nimble's charging banks are using the USB-C technology that's becoming more and more ubiquitous in technology, and might even win over Apple in Europe, at least.

Nimble plans to go completely e-waste neutral by 2022, and will recycle up to a pound of e-waste (i.e. discarded electronic devices) for every product it sells.

"With every Nimble product, we include a prepaid return envelope so you can send old or obsolete electronics directly to our e-waste recycling partner for safe, responsible recycling at no additional cost," the company said on its website.

The incentive to do something good while receiving a quality product could be enough for this to become a major brand in the technology and smartphone accessory space, and will likely lead a trend of more competitors following suit. Given the environmental benefits, that's a pretty good thing.