Long live technology

Back Market, the leading marketplace dedicated to verified refurbished technology, today launched a global campaign urging consumers to stand against fast tech and the culture of overconsumption and overproduction. The new campaign was unveiled by Chief Marketing Officer, Joy Howard, during a press conference in NYC to launch a new global partnership between Back Market and iFixit.

“E-waste and fast tech are global problems that need global awareness and solutions. We must start the conversation around the impact of our reliance on technology by illustrating how our environment has changed between smartphone model releases,”

said Howard.

“This campaign against fast tech will only be successful if we offer solutions that help consumers change deeply-rooted behaviors so we’re proud to team-up with iFixit to provide the information they need to reuse, repair and refurbish their devices.” 

The campaign is designed to demonstrate the environmental impacts of the climate crisis while highlighting the growing responsibility of fast tech's overconsumption and overproduction. At the same time the campaign empowers consumers to take action by reusing, repairing and buying refurbished tech whenever possible to extend the lifespan of their devices and keep them out of landfills. Images in the ads illustrate how dramatically the environment changes between smartphone models. In just a few short years, glaciers have disappeared, droughts changed the landscape and floods have taken over entire cities. The images in this campaign are dramatic reminders of the costs of our disposable culture.  

The partnership between Back Market and iFixit focuses on a combination of reuse, repair, and refurbishment, and will integrate iFixit toolkits and tutorials across Back Market while incorporating refurbished technology options and information on all iFixit channels. 

Back Market and iFixit are also calling on consumers to extend the lifespans of their smartphones from 2.5 to 5 years, and for manufacturers to make sure that their devices can last and be easily repairable for a minimum period of 10 years. This would require product designs that allow for easy removability and replaceability of spare parts, that spare parts, repair information and software updates are provided for 10 years, and that anti-repair practices, such as software blockers, are banned.   Keeping an iPhone 13 for 5 years instead of 2.5 years with a battery replacement cuts its annual carbon emissions by 49% which could prevent 15.6 million tons of CO2 per year.  Extending its life to 10 years through repairs and refurbishment reduces emissions by 68%. If adopted worldwide, this shift could prevent 21.6 million tons of CO2e per year*.

The total digital industry including production and usage accounts for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is predicted to represent 14% of total global emissions by 2040. The e-waste that results is now the fastest-growing form of pollution on the planet, with approximately 62 million tons produced worldwide in 2022. That figure is expected to double by 2050, and the US is currently the second largest producer, recycling just 15% of e-waste. While manufacturers continue to release new devices marketed with must-have features, Back Market and iFixit are dedicated to making buying and repairing refurbished electronics a mainstream habit while challenging consumers to rethink the lifecycle of our phones.

The Fast Tech campaign was developed in partnership with Marcel, a Paris-based creative and interactive agency, and is set to appear in high-profile locations across New York City, London, Paris, Madrid and Hamburg. The campaign will also include a dedicated online content hub and social components to educate consumers on the impact of e-waste and what they can do to reduce their reliance on the culture of fast tech.

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About Back Market: Back Market is the leading global marketplace dedicated to verified refurbished technology. Our mission is to create a world that does more with what we already have by prolonging the lifespan of electronic devices through circularity and repair. Founded in Paris in 2014, the company has grown by double digits year over year and to date over 30 million refurbished devices have been sold on Back Market across 17 markets, avoiding approximately 1.6 billion Kg of carbon emissions. 

*Scenario calculation based on the carbon footprint of manufacturing from Apple Product Environmental Reports; refurbishment emissions from ADEME study; repair emissions from the Life Cycle Assessment of the Fairphone 5; and CO₂-to-household energy consumption conversion from the U.S. EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator and the number of smartphones sold in 2023