Damaged iPhone

How many mobile phones get damaged?

07 Jan 2020

Curious about how often phones actually take a beating these days? Dropping your phone can be a costly affair, not just for your wallet but also for the environment. Each year, millions of screens get cracked, leaving users with a hefty repair bill. Let's explore this topic further in the following blog.

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Mobile phones are not cheap for your budget or the environment

You’re looking to spend at least 1000 USD to get the latest and greatest model. Flagship phones, like the newest iPhones or Galaxy devices, can even be financed like a car. And their value depreciates just as quickly, especially if you damage it.

In addition to the monetary cost consumers pay, there is also a collective cost paid for by the planet and everything on it. Mobile phones pollute. They require raw materials that have to be mined, pumped, and processed to be fabricated into a device powered by electricity most likely generated using ancient carbon sources.

Mobile phones break easily

Accidentally dropping it on the ground often cracks the glass, scrapes the metal, and knocks something loose inside. We suppose it was only a matter of time until the Earth started punching back. Perhaps it is poetic justice for the walloping we’ve been giving our planet.

Damages iPhone Screen

But, looking at it philosophically doesn't alter the fact that it's still crappy when you break your phone. (And phones can be used for a lot of good things too).

Do you know how often mobile phones break?

A lot. According to a 2018 report by Allstate subsidiary SquareTrade, annual smartphone accidents in the US result in around 50 million cracked phone screens. One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Four screens just broke.

All those screens cost about three and a half billion US dollars per year. That cost is paid for by consumers, people like you and me. And that’s not even counting the 27% of damage caused by phones falling into a toilet - which has to be the worst way to break your phone.

Statistically speaking you should consider getting a case for your mobile device (and maybe have some bleach soaked rags on standby).

What's good about a mobile case?

What’s good about a mobile case is that if you drop your phone while it’s protected, the case takes the brunt of the damage instead of your phone.

No Plastic Case Vista Blue

Folks say that phones should be designed to be used without needing a case. We agree but have to point out that humans are sort of designed the same way. While there’s nothing wrong with people being naked, one reason most of us aren't out and about completely nude, modesty notwithstanding, is because clothing serves a useful purpose: it protects our skin from damage by the elements.

There’s also nothing wrong with a case-less mobile phone. If you’re at home in bed, by all means, admire the fine contours and gleaming glass of your mobile device. But if you’re heading out, the best thing to do is stick it in a case. (You should probably just leave it in a case when at home, but what goes on behind closed doors is your business, not ours.)

Style and purpose

Another nice thing about having a case is that it allows you to add a bit of personality to a rather slab-sided device. Nobody wants a boring phone. That’s why ours comes in a variety of striking colors and designs.

We know we can’t be all things to all people. But our case is special. We designed it with a circular lifecycle in mind. We call it agood loop™.

Agood Loop System - Send Back Old Case

Why is circularity important?

Remember all that mining and processing we mentioned earlier about phones getting made? Mobile cases are made the same way. Most plastic comes from petroleum or natural gas - resources that took millions of years to accumulate. We think that should stop. Turning precious resources into items that are important, for the reasons stated above, but have short life expectancies is folly. And we can and should do better.

agood company phone case

Our phone case is different. No dinosaurs were harmed to make our case. It is made from linseed we had a farmer grow in Sweden. It is climate-positive and compostable, meaning that if you put it in a compost heap and poked it with a rake now and again, it will turn back into the soil from where it came. But, there’s more.

Tech companies such as Apple have buyback programs so consumers can trade their old phones for a discount. This enables Apple to disassemble and properly recycle obsolete devices and be resource stewards.

We feel cases should be the same. They get old, they get beaten up, and they don’t always fit new phones. That’s why we have agood loop™ - a circular system that lets you swap your mobile case for a new one at any time. Join us in championing compostable phone cases for a sustainable future.

No Plastic Case Vanilla White
Compostable Phone Cases Made in Sweden

Very few case manufacturers have programs to turn old mobile phone covers into new ones but we feel that it is the responsible thing to do.

Keep your phone close, but the case, even closer

Mobile phones are amazing devices. They allow us to communicate with people around the world. Photos that they take can document the beauty of the planet we live on.

If we want to keep the planet beautiful, we should hold on to our phones - figuratively and literally. Don’t drop your phone, and keep it for as long as you can. Doing both will save you money and help the planet. Agood mobile case can help.

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Anders Ankarlid

Anders Ankarlid

Co-founder & Product Development Lead

Co-founder of agood company and product development lead. A serial e-commerce entrepreneur, and a father of three. Have worked in e-commerce for more than a decade. Mindless consumption activist.

"I want to be able to look into my kids’ eyes and honestly say: "I did everything I could to hinder climate-change”

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