We chat to the makers of Nothing headphones
Learn about The Weeknd backed tech company looking to disrupt the phone and audio market
Nothing are bold in their intentions. The tech space is under the control of a handful of monopolies and they want to disrupt that, whilst upholding their responsibility to the planet and the workers who make their product. With investors including The Weekend and Casey Neistat and an apparel line stocked in Goodhood, the brand is likely to benefit from a subversive cool factor setting them up to potentially mount a big challenge to the Apples and Samsungs of the world. Most importantly, the product is good. We've tried and tested the latest earbuds and the sound cancellation, audio quality, battery life and design (which swaps bland tech-bro minimalism for Pompidou-esque transparency) make them a seriously impressive bit of kit. But with so many products claiming to be eco-conscious, we needed to apply some scrutiny.
Conversations around sustainability and conscious consumption have been commonplace in fashion discourse for decades now. The proliferation of super fast fashion has brought those conversations into even sharper relief. As companies have responded to greater environmental awareness with greenwashing, transparency about what constitutes "sustainability" is needed. Nothing's team were forthcoming in sharing their sustainability report with us, which you can also download online. Their earbud the Ear has a low lifecycle carbon footprint of 2.91 kg CO₂e, uses 100% recycled tin solder paste and comes in plastic free packaging. But materials and packaging tell half the story. The minerals that are used to make most of our electronic products are chiefly found in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the procurement of them has been found to be fuelling armed conflict, displacement, child labour and serious human rights violations in pursuit of the lucrative metals. A lot of sustainability conversation focus on materials to shift focus away from global supply chains.
Nothing's sustainability report contains a clear information on their commitment to ensuring their products are not made from conflict minerals. They told us "the brand requires all suppliers to use the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) and Extended Minerals Reporting Template (EMRT) under the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI). That means all 3TG minerals in Nothing’s products come from smelters and refiners that have been vetted through the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP)". Now in terms of what that looks like in actual numbers "95% of Nothing’s suppliers took part in the latest audits, with 94% of identified smelters and refiners fully certified, and 2.3% currently undergoing certification". It is worth pointing out that one of Nothing's investors is Google Ventures who are owned by Google's parent company Alphabet. Alphabet were one of the major tech companies alongside Apple and Meta named in a lawsuit over Congolese child mining deaths. So whilst Nothing's own practices seem to be above board, one of their chief investors engages in the practices their company purportedly seeks to challenge.
How much a company is compromised by its investors is subjective but the transparency on sustainability claims and engagement with ethical procurement practices point to Nothing's claims of being a sustainable brand being justified. Pair that with sleek product and interesting cultural touch points and we have a brand to be seriously interested in as time goes on.
Shop Nothing here
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