Earlier in the year, I wrote a post about cell phones that covered a few social and environmental issues, from repairability and longevity to sourcing of (conflict) minerals. I said I would post an update once I chose a new phone and wrote a Green Stars review, and so, here I am! Based on the research that I did for that post, I had come to the conclusion that Samsung is one of the worst choices (of those I considered) and that Fairphone is perhaps the most ethical choice, but not so practical for me (4G network coverage is only available in Europe). While researching the subject, I discovered (to my surprise) that LG is actually one of the best Android phone makers when it comes to social and environmental impact. That’s only my opinion, of course – I’d love to hear yours!



So, in the end, I chose an LG phone – specifically the LG X-Power, which has a super-long battery life. The larger battery has almost eliminated communication breakdowns at midnight in San Francisco (not completely – other people’s phones still run out of power *cough, Jorge*) and also makes it highly unlikely that I’ll need a new phone/battery because of declining battery life. So, here’s my review of that phone, which I’m posting here as a reminder of what a typical Green Stars review looks like:



A review doesn’t have to be that long, of course, so don’t let the length put you off. I sometimes write very short reviews that point out just one or two positive or negative aspects of a product or company.

Also, I originally posted the review on Amazon even though I didn’t buy it from them (I bought from Virgin Mobile, who I considered to be one of the better network providers – see this post on phone network operators). The review had a pretty good readership on Amazon (based on the number of votes it received and its position on the product page), again demonstrating that reviews are a good way of spreading information about corporate practices, even if you didn’t make your purchase online. In other words, writing Green Stars reviews is a form of consumer activism.



If you’d like to see other examples of Green Stars reviews, please check out these posts on Converse High Tops, Nestlé Kit Kat, Nutiva coconut oil, a recycled laptop sleeve, and also the Example Reviews page.