It is manufactured without minerals from conflict zones, respects workers' rights and environmental protection regulations. It is Fairphone, the ethical and sustainable smartphone unveiled in the United Kingdom by The Phone Co-op, a British cooperative established with the aim of providing telephone services to its customers, consisting mainly of non-profit organisations, other cooperatives and charities, as well as residential customers.

The new smartphone was launched thanks to a crowdfunding campaign that financed the development of Fairphone. "We are delighted with our partnership with Fairphone – said Vivian Wondell, chief executive of The Phone Co-op – it means we are able to build our reputation as a leading ethical telecoms provider, by making available the most ethical mobile phone on the market".

Fairphone was created to address a number of ethical issues and to offer consumers an alternative to common smartphones that still use materials from conflict zones and that are produced, despite Apple and Nokia having undertaken a series of initiatives to improve their environmental credentials, in ways that trample on the most basic standards in terms of workers' rights and environmental protection.

The materials used to assemble Fairphone, such as tin and tungsten, are extracted from mines in conflict-free areas of South Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, meaning that none of the profits go towards the purchase of weapons. Fairphone funds a workers' welfare fund and promotes investment in local communities; furthermore, to reduce electronic waste, the phone is equipped with two SIM card slots, so it can be used for both work and private life with two separate phone numbers. Fairphone will be available from December and will be sold at a price of £272, approximately €340; it has a 4.3-inch screen and runs a modified version of Android.