In the world of fashion, Fuchsia Red, Palace Blue, Lucite Green, Super Lemon, and Lavender may be the color trends for the season but in technology, green may be the one color that will last a long time.

Earth-friendly devices, or "green gadgets" as they are called, were as abundant as wild mushrooms now as a myriad of tech companies battled it out in the green arena with the number of electronics they introduced, which included solar powered phones and energy-saving LCD TVs.

But for the mobile phone leader, being green isn't just about having one environment-friendly device.

Earth lover

"Rather than focusing on creating a particular green device for a particular segment, we want to include as many environmentally friendly features as possible in our entire product lineup," said William Hamilton-Whyte, General Manager of Nokia Philippines.

Nokia launches more than 30 mobile devices a year that boast an assortment of features such as built-in music players, multinewly resized images will show up alongside the originals. A great too for quickly resizing megapixel cameras, internet browsing, mobile gaming, and immense phone memory.

An example of this is the newly introduced Nokia 5630 XpressMusic. Aside from being a great music player, it includes the latest sustainable and energysaving features like an ambient light sensor that adjusts the light of the screen and key mat depending on natural light available and automatically displays a reminder once the phone is fully charged.

Of course, the materials and packaging for the device have been selected with the environment in mind, as well as including environmental services like Eco zone, Green Explorer, and we:offset. Its smaller packaging is 100% recyclable, with the user’s guide printed in black and white on recycled paper and a green page with information on how to use the device in an environmental way. The device will also have eco tips included in the tutorial.

Nokia We:Cycle

Nokia's earth-loving initiatives don't stop there. Aside from incorporating energy-saving features and environment-friendly materials into their mobile devices, they have also been promoting recycling through its Takeback and Recycle Campaign since 1999, way before Al Gore got the bandwagon rolling on climate change and environmental concern in 2006.

Nokia’s phone Takeback program is one of the most advanced in the industry, and is a global effort to encourage responsible recycling worldwide. "Locally, we started our Takeback and Recycle Campaign in December last year and we will continue that program this year."

"Our commitment is that for every kilo of recyclable materials we get, Nokia will make a donation to Bantay Kalikasan for the continued rehabilitation of the La Mesa Watershed."

A recent Nokia global consumer survey revealed that only 3% of people recycle their mobile phones despite the fact that most have devices they no longer want lying around at home. 3 out of 4 people added that they don't event think about recycling their devices. Nearly half were unaware that it is even possible to do so.

Others are giving their mobiles another life in different ways, a quarter of which is passing their old phones on to friends or family, and 16% are selling their used devices particularly in emerging markets.

If each of the three billion people globally owning mobiles brought back just one unused device, 240,000 tonnes of raw materials will be saved, which will help reduce greenhouse gases.

"Using the best recycling technology, nothing is wasted," added Hamilton-Whyte.

"Between 65 – 80% of a Nokia device can be recycled. Plastics that can’t be recycled are burnt to provide energy for the recycling process, and other materials are ground up into chips and used as construction materials or for building roads. In this way, nothing has to go to landfill.”