Electronic waste, conflict minerals, and poor labor conditions are just a few

We all love shiny new electronics.

But every new smartphone or laptop comes with baggage.

Weighing climate dread , terrible working conditions , energy usage , and worries over hellish e-waste graveyards can quickly kill your excitement about shopping for a new gadget.

None of us wants to be complicit, but what can we do if these issues concern us?

Sadly, there’s no easy way to find ethically manufactured and eco-friendly electronics.

But there are things you can do to reduce any negative impact your purchases may have.

Here are a few ideas we’ve compiled, with the help of Alex Crumbie, writer and researcher at Ethical Consumer , a UK magazine that ranks brands across various categories, from environmental reporting to workers’ rights.

Updated March 2026: I've conducted a new expert interview, added options for buying used or refurbished, added Framework laptops, and removed some older picks.

The best way to minimize your impact is to avoid buying new devices if you can.

The unpalatable truth is that every new gadget has a cost in manufacturing, shipping, operating life, and, eventually, waste.

Most of the environmental impact comes from the manufacturing stage.

The carbon footprint of a smartphone decreases with each additional year it is used, according to Crumbie.

To give an example, the carbon footprint of an iPhone 11 is 52.5 kg if you keep it for two years, but it drops to 35 kg if you keep it for three, and just 10.5 kg if you're still using it a decade later.

It’s best to continue using what you already own or get devices repaired to extend their lifespan wherever possible.

Thankfully, this is becoming easier with the US Federal Trade Commission voting to enforce the right to repair .

Manufacturers like Apple and Samsung are starting to offer guides and repair kits, but there’s still a ways to go .

If you want to check how repairable your gadgets are, iFixit has a guide , and it’s also a great place to find tutorials, instructions, and the necessary components and tools to fix your devices.

You might even be able to rent iFixit kits from your local library, as one WIRED staffer found when looking to repair her Roomba.

“Buying secondhand is generally much better in terms of the environment, especially if it means something gets more life rather than going to landfill,” Crumbie says.

If your device is beyond repair, or you're shopping for a new category of device you're not very familiar with, consider buying used or refurbished tech .

You can sometimes get a discount on devices often indistinguishable from brand-new ones.

You won't get as great a deal buying from somewhere like Apple’s Certified Refurbished store , but you can rest assured you will get a perfectly working device in as-new condition with a warranty.

You might also check out Amazon Renewed or Best Buy Refurbished .

For deeper discounts, you'll have to buy used from dealers or private sellers, but there’s more risk involved.

Follow our advice on the best used tech to buy and check out our guides on how to buy a used phone and how to buy used devices on eBay to boost your chances of bagging a bargain while avoiding potential pitfalls.

To manufacture electronic devices, companies need to source numerous materials and components, usually from various countries.

That often means the mining and assembly take place in countries with low wages and scant protections for workers.

Working out whether a device was produced in a fully ethical manner with no exploitation of workers or environmental damage is very tough.

What you can do is take a hard look at the manufacturer behind the device you want and consider which issues are most important to you.

Ideally, the company will have strong policies on managing workers' rights issues in the supply chain and sourcing materials in an eco-friendly way.

Look for evidence on how a company is reducing its carbon emissions in line with science-based targets, and find out if it's attempting to reduce harmful chemicals in its products.

Also, consider tax avoidance and policy transparency.

Searching for news stories and digging into a company's websites to see what issues they talk about can amount to a lot of work.

Websites and publications like Ethical Consumer have done some of the legwork here, condensing this information into score tables for devices like laptops and smartphones .

Several standards and labels can help you assess the environmental and ethical impact of different tech devices.

It's worth looking for the EPEAT (Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool) label , which is managed by the Global Electronics Council.

Registered products must meet various criteria for environmental performance and impact.

Crumbie recommends TCO Certified , a sustainability label for tech products that considers the broad range of social and environmental factors in every product's lifecycle.

To receive a TCO-Certified label, devices must meet criteria relating to the design and manufacture, including workers’ rights, conflict minerals, hazardous chemicals, user health and safety, durability, and recyclability.

In the US, you will often see the government-backed Energy Star label, which means the device conforms to energy efficiency standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

You can also find an EnergyGuide label on some appliances that displays estimated annual running costs and energy usage.

Energy labels in the UK and the EU show energy efficiency on a scale of A to G, energy consumption, and other details such as volume, noise, and water consumption, where relevant.

Switching to LED from incandescent or halogen bulbs can significantly reduce energy use and bills.

Even smart bulbs and other kinds of smart lighting often require less power than traditional lights.

It’s also worth buying rechargeable batteries instead of single-use disposable batteries, but we recommend choosing carefully, as some cheaper rechargeable batteries don’t perform as well or last as long as they should.

My pick is Panasonic’s Eneloop range .

Finding Ethical and Eco-Friendly Brands
Companies are good at highlighting that they use ocean-reclaimed plastic in a particular device or that they donate a percentage of their profits to a worthy cause, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are truly ethical or eco-friendly.

Here are a small handful of brands that seem to have a deeper commitment to doing the right thing.

Choosing where to buy your electronics is important, but it is complicated.

Buying local from small businesses is best, but that’s getting tougher to do with electronics.

Big retailers have their fingers in so many pies that it can be very tough to choose where to go.

Some companies are great on working conditions but not so much on sustainability, and vice versa.

The EPA has an interesting chart that shows the top 30 retailers for green power use , and it's a good example of something you might want to consider when choosing a retailer.

You'll often see descriptions like “eco-friendly,” “green,” and “sustainable” used by many companies to make products more appealing.

Avoid taking these claims at face value.

“Be wary of claims about products that are advertised as 'carbon neutral' or even 'carbon negative',” Crumbie says.

“We are very skeptical of this language and consider it misleading.”
Instead, take a closer look.

It’s common for companies to use a small percentage of recycled material in a device's casing or offer a "low energy" setting, then crow about it to buy some goodwill.

But many of the same companies do nothing to rectify the profound environmental and social issues associated with electronics supply chains.

How to Dispose of Your Old Electronics
When you upgrade to new gadgets, try to find a useful life for your old gear.

You can often repurpose your old gadgets or pass them on to someone who can use them.

One rule to remember: “Most people just leave them in a drawer, but these devices have previous metals and minerals in them, so it is best to do something with them,” Crumbie says, “If you can't sell or pass it on to someone else, then it should be recycled.

Don't just throw it in the bin.”
Even phone cases should not be thrown in the trash.

Kerf will repair cases for free or offer discounts up to 50 percent on replacement cases when you send your old one back.

Casetify will recycle your old phone cases (from any brand), and Sonix offers 30 percent off new cases when you donate your old case.

We can go on and on, but before you buy, it's worth checking whether a brand has similar initiatives.

At the very least, make sure your devices are properly recycled .

You can find a handy list of international e-waste recycling links at iFixit .

Manufacturers like Apple and Microsoft will take old devices.

Dell will even take electronics it didn’t manufacture.

And you can recycle any electronics at Best Buy .

Make sure you read our guide on how to sell, donate, or recycle your old devices .