Want to reduce waste? These are unique semi-green gadgets

The best gadgets are those that find a way to enhance your world of work, play, or even just your daily routine. But there is another feature that can make good technology even better: environmental friendliness.

Constantly buying the latest and greatest technology or gadgets obviously results in big losses. But thinking critically about the gadgets you buy can play a small role in changing this trend.

Below, we’ll take a look at some of the unique technologies we’ve discovered that either offer a greener approach to competitors or have a positive impact on the planet.

Laptop or smartphone for ages

Although the Framework laptop at the time of this writing was still running the latest generation Intel processor, it proved to be a good tool for productivity and even light gaming when we tested it last year. But the important thing here is that the laptop is designed to last a long time. You can upgrade its components like RAM and storage more easily than on other laptops. It’s also easier to repair as it opens with a screwdriver and Framework shares repair guides online. You can even buy a Framework laptop motherboard separately.

As far as phones go, Fairphone might be a more sustainable choice as it has products that can last for years and include extensive software support. Take the Fairphone 2. It came out in 2010 and can run Android 10 2019.

Meanwhile, the Fairphone 3 and 3+, released in 2019, are in beta testing for Android 11.

All of this makes the Fairphone 4 based on Android 11, which is already under a five-year warranty, looking pretty promising in terms of durability.

USB lighter

If we deplore the wasteful burning of resources, let’s turn to our lighters. Disposable lighters are cheap and easy to find in a pinch, but they are not recyclable, nor are reusable ones.

Battery-powered variants work by using “high-voltage electrical current [that] is passed between two nodes to create an arc of highly charged plasma”according to Popular Mechanics. They are rechargeable so you don’t have to buy new lighters. And because they don’t use fire, electronic lighters tend to be safer and more wind-resistant.

Going deeper, as e-lighter manufacturer Power Practical explained in a blog post, “due to ionization, the electrons present in the air begin to move along the core and create an arc-shaped current.”That is why these chargers are also called plasma or arc lighters. Instead of a dancing flame, you will see a purple zigzag that looks like lightning.

A blog post from an electronic lighter maker quoted by Popular Mechanics suggests that its products work similarly:

“Lightning occurs when the accumulation of electrical charge in the clouds reaches a point where the ability of that charge to travel through the air is reached, and the charged particles either jump between the clouds or fall to the ground, causing a huge arc of plasma. light, warmth and sound,” according to the Flux Lighters blog.

Rechargeable lighters can be just as expensive or almost as cheap as traditional lighters. An unnamed $13 version from Amazon (see image above) found its way into my home, and while it sometimes needs to be cleaned or bent back and forth to start the arc, it has been usable since 2019.

There are also nicer options. The USB Lighter company, for example, has options rated for “up to 1,000 bulbs per charge”as well as options with a prismatic flip top.

One of the downsides of USB lighters is that you need to keep the arc tips clean, which may require you to bring a cloth or cloth that you will have to throw away or launder, creating some waste. Most of us need a lighter, and with a USB lighter, you can still start a fire without burning through a bunch of plastic, metal, and gas.

Net positive monitors

Prioritizing sustainability with monitor arms might seem achievable at first, but we’ve found offerings from Humanscale that are actually certified eco-friendly, water-based, and energy-efficient.

Certification is provided by the International Future of Life Institute, which requires products to be “healthy and free of toxins”, “purely positive and beneficial to both people and the environment”. Companies that meet the certification requirements must also bear social responsibility, including in relation to their employees. The certification has seven general areas of effectiveness: place, water, energy, health and happiness, materials, justice and beauty.

Humanscale is the first company to sell monitor arms with this certification and offers options for single, dual, triple monitor setups and more.