A recent survey from Greenpeace found more than half of respondents would be OK upgrading to new cellphone models less frequently.
The environmental group’s research found two-thirds of U.S. respondents said that when they buy new phones, their old ones are still functioning. Yet 54 percent indicated they’d be amenable to keeping their phones longer.
“It seems most people are sick of the way phones are so easily disposable and the way we are marketed a never-ending cycle of new trends,” Chih An Lee, global IT campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia, wrote in a blog post. “But really, we just want to own a phone that lasts, is easily repairable, and can be recycled. What’s more, we don’t want it produced with nasty hazardous chemicals or disposed of in e-waste sites around the world.”
Commissioned by Greenpeace, the online survey was conducted by Ipsos MORI over the last two months.
It presented a variety of cellphone-related questions to about 1,000 respondents in each of the following countries: China, Germany, Mexico, Russia, South Korea and the U.S.
Across all countries, the responses showed consumers feel phone companies release too many new models and feel they could live with upgrading to new phones less often, according to Greenpeace. They also want phones that will last longer and are easier to repair.
In addition, many consumers believe phone manufacturers are the party most responsible for providing access to e-scrap recycling for phones, according to Greenpeace.
The survey, called the Greenpeace Global Mobile Survey 2016, marks the beginning of a campaign to challenge electronics manufacturers to reduce energy and toxic chemical usage, according to The Guardian.
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