topic Re: Fair Trade in Canada in The Lounge

Fair Trade in Canada

Julez — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 17:47:04 GMT

Does anyone one know of Fair Trade phones in Canada. I like the FairPhone concept but don't think I will get to Europe anytime soon. I am also interested in other electronics if you know of any? I think the House of Marley are a good start. I would also be interested in a phone from a B corp if Fair Trade isn't available.

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

LurganIeUk — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 17:56:14 GMT

I just can’t resist.

Two Fair Trade Nabob Coffee cans with a string might work.

Happy Valentines day everyone!

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

stevenanto — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 19:04:58 GMT

Never heard of such a thing but sounds interesting to say the least, is this only in Europe?

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

Julez — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 19:09:51 GMT

They are based in Amsterdam.

https://shop.fairphone.com/

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

Nezgar — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 20:34:05 GMT

Well, if you can figure out how to order one to Canada, the specs of the FairPhone 3 for example appear to be well suited for Public Mobile in Canada:

https://shop.fairphone.com/en/fairphone-3

3G (HSPA+)

Frequencies - 800, 850, 900, 1700, 1900, 2100 Mhz

4G (LTE)

Bands - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 20, 26

Ordering from their website at least does not include Canada as a shipping destination...

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

TheGx — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 20:38:07 GMT

That's be awesome if Public would offer these phones for sale on Canada!

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

LurganIeUk — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 21:21:29 GMT

Think about it. It is not on eBay or Amazon either.

Think....warranty....parts...repair......screen replacement....battery replacement.

Fair Trade Electronics

Julez — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 22:51:26 GMT

My question was asking if anyone knows of a Fairtrade product in Canada. The Fairphone company sounds amazing in Europe but they are not available here at this time. I think it is great how the Fairphone has replaceable parts. I am hoping a Canadian company will have a similar concept.

Re: Fair Trade Electronics

darlicious — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 23:02:13 GMT

@Julez

Great post! I am very interested in these phones and they would be a perfect marriage for public mobile. I wonder what regulatory conditions exist that prevent these phones from being offered to North American customers.

Re: Fair Trade Electronics

Julez — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 23:27:59 GMT

When I contacted the company it seemed that they were not ready to expand that big at this time. I was hoping that they could team up with. Ten Thousand Villages or another Fair Trade company already in Canada.

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

julioswe — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 02:48:13 GMT

Hello,

you can find the Teracube 2e.

For me, it's similar to Fairphone but maybe it's not exactly is what you are looking for.

Indeed, it's not canadian but american.

More information here :

https://myteracube.com/pages/teracube-2e

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

Julez — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 03:03:39 GMT

Thanks. It looks neat and it ships to Canada. It is not Fairtrade but does at least seem environmentally friendly. I will research it more.

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

Korth — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 03:24:15 GMT

Earlier Fairphones weren't radio-compatible with Public Mobile (Telus) networks. They were primarily intended for European market.

Specs for the latest Fairphone 3+ are somewhat radio-compatible with Public Mobile (Telus). All the basics should work but many of the LTE bands aren't supported. I suppose they'll still get Public Mobile's 3Mbps "3G Speed" but signal might be weak in some areas.

Fairphone is certainly more environmentally friendly than mainstream brands - most people don't want to think about how their shiny Apples and Samsungs are being built in industrialized sweatshops with horrible working conditions and slave wages.

You do need to DIY when it comes time to upgrade those modules. It's a great idea but it's just not for everyone.

And certain core components (like the mainboard and everything soldered onto it) just can't be upgraded, they're already heavily populated and just can't support much more, so while there are modular options the upgrade path still remains surprisingly limited. At some point a few years down the road you will have to buy a new device, as always.

But the deal breaker for me is just what you get vs what you pay. Fairphones are fairly costly while their tech is fairly gutless and dated. And they're always big clunky things. At any given point in time you can always buy smaller, sleeker, faster, better devices at the same or lower price. The added cost of being a "responsible" consumer is appealing to a limit, but (to me) the Fairphones always exceed that limit too far and in too many ways.

Re: Fair Trade in Canada

darlicious — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 04:17:19 GMT

@julioswe

Thanks for this info its a great concept and I will certainly be following along with their community as they continue to develope their phones. The camera is a deal killer for me but I may recommend it as an option for others to investigate.