Happy Earth Day, Ambitious Fam! Welcome to what I am deeming as Earth Week on the blog. Ever since I started my sustainability journey, my focus has been on making easy, eco-friendly swaps. Over time, these gradual changes have compounded to make a much larger impact. I truly believe that if more people just make little changes and practice sustainability imperfectly, it will still have the power to change the world. In that spirit, this week on the blog, I am sharing new, eco-friendly products that I have tested and loved over the past few months (if not longer)! These reviews are not sponsored at all, just sharing my experience in hopes that others will consider making an environmentally friendly switch :).
Pela: 100% Compostable and Biodegradable Phone Case
First up in my series of Earth Week Product Spotlights is Pela! Pela is a company that creates 100% compostable phone cases (and more recently other products). Did you know that about 1 billion plastic phone cases are sold every year? Not only that, but they are also frequently thrown away due to phone upgrades or at whim. Honestly, I had never thought about how normal it feels to purchase multiple phone cases or their potential lasting negative impacts on the Earth until after I stumbled across this company.
Pela cases are made out of what they call “Flaxstic” which is a mix of flax straw and a compostable bioplastic. The company claims that you can throw it in your backyard compost (or drop off at your local industrial compost collection) and it will completely breakdown. Alternatively, Pela also offers a program called Pela 360 in which they will take back your old phone case and either upcycle it into a new product or compost it for you. Either way, you can rest assured that the phone case will not be sitting in a landfill or worse–floating in our oceans. Speaking of oceans, I actually purchased the Pela case that I did because it’s pink (of course, very on brand) and because 5% of the proceeds from this particular case is getting donated to Oceana for protection of whales and other marine life.
My Review
By now you’re probably thinking “that’s cool and all, but does it actually work?” Here is a review from someone who is typically pretty anal about her phone protection (I’m talking Otterbox crew).
Pros:
I enjoy the color and subtle whale design! The texture of the case is smooth and I did not have any trouble putting it on my phone. While I can live without a pop socket on my phone case, I tested it out for a couple of weeks to make sure that it was also pop socket friendly. The good news is, the pop socket has survived! The adhesive is starting to lose some of its stick (I attribute this mostly to frequent sanitization) but it’s still doing the job. Honestly, as long as my screen doesn’t break when I drop it (which…I do quite a bit), it passes the test as a phone case.
Cons:
While my phone generally feels protected (and it’s taken a few spills!), the case does have a looser fit. I’m used to my cases being practically glued to my phone so that there is no risk of a bad fall. It’s tolerable and I’m willing to make the trade-off for the environment.
Final Thoughts:
As easy environmental switches go, trading your plastic phone case in for a compostable Pela case is pretty painless. I only waited as long as I did to make the switch because I wanted to get as much use out of the plastic one that I already had (I waited until it was literally falling apart). When you’re ready to upgrade your phone, def consider choosing an environmentally friendly phone case to protect it!
Currently, Pela is running a “Wear One, Wash One” campaign to encourage everyone to clean their phone case (super important always, but SUPER important right now). To get your own Pela case, click here!
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