Covestro and Fairphone Collaborating on Sustainable Composite Smartphone Cases

Both Covestro and mobile phone manufacturer Fairphone have a focus on sustainability. The companies are collaborating on the use of fully and partly recycled thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) in the cases of the most recent versions of the Fairphone smartphone, the Fairphone 3 and Fairphone 4. 

The rear device cover, middle frame, and wireless charger of the Fairphone 4 all feature products from Covestro's post-consumer recycled (PCR) polycarbonate portfolio, providing the stiffness, impact strength, and flame retardancy required.  

Covestro’s Desmopan® 3095AU RC100 TPU, developed from post-industrial recycled plastics, is used in the protective case of both the Fairphone 3 and Fairphone 4. The materials are certified according to the international Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) for recycled raw materials within supply chains. 

Keeping the end of the smartphones’ useful life in the forefront, Covestro’s mono-material approach using one polycarbonate in the housing and TPU plastics in the protective cover of the phone allows for recycling of the phone when the time comes. 

"With the help of our post-consumer recycling portfolio, we support Fairphone in achieving its sustainability goals. This includes particularly robust material solutions that enable a modular design of Fairphone products and promote their repairability," says Nan Hu, vice president head of global industrial marketing electronics & electrical in the Engineering Plastics business entity at Covestro. "Such projects and collaborations are in line with our vision to become fully circular." 

Wayne Huang, vice president of product operations at Fairphone, added, "With a shared mission to create a more equitable and sustainable future, Fairphone is pleased to collaborate with Covestro and use its recycled and recyclable materials solutions in our Fairphone 4. We believe Covestro can help us work towards a circular economy that creates a more sustainable world. This is just a first step, and we will continue to support Covestro in developing more sustainable materials.”