3D Hubs (and sites like it) invokes a unique manufacturing method that has the potential to change the way we obtain our goods. Rather than heading to a big box store for some mass produced item, the site uses a network of 3D printers around the globe so that you can order a completely unique item 3D printed locally. By sidestepping manufacturers with questionable production methods – unsafe working environments, for instance – distributed manufacturing may address some of the ethical concerns associated with our current system. And, now, the company is extending its moral mission by partnering with a company that seems to truly care about the way our stuff is made.
Fairphone is a smartphone manufacturer that tries to avoid all of the ethical issues seen with traditional brands. To do so, the company uses only minerals mined from conflict free areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and builds the phones in factories with safe conditions, “[working] closely with manufacturers that want to invest in employee wellbeing.” Fairphone also does its best to reuse and recycle phones at the end of their lifecycle. And the phone’s designs are open, so users know exactly how they operate.
The ethical smartphone producer can now add phone cases made through distributed manufacturing to its list of best practices. 3D Hubs has released a range of smartphone cases, five for now, that Fairphone users can purchase to have 3D printed from the printer closest to them. That way, Fairphone customers don’t have to worry about the working conditions of smartphone case manufacturers or the CO2 used to ship mass produced items from one place to the next. Now, all they’ll have to do is tackle the ethical sourcing of filament and proper recycling of old cases and they’ve got themselves a fully sustainable system at work.
You can order a Fairphone case for €18.00 at the Fairphone site and, if you don’t see something you like, you might want to wait until later in the week because the partners will be holding a design contest for the next case design. All of the 3D printers in the network wishing to participate in the fabrication of these smartphone cases have produced their own “test case” for 3D Hubs to ensure the quality of their printing meets a certain standard. But, if you’ve got your own printer, you don’t have to purchase your phone case through Fairphone and 3D Hubs, you can download the CAD file to 3D print one yourself, too. That last bit, in my opinion, is the true test of a company looking to maintain its integrity.
