January 6th, 2009
Motorola: We'll take your water bottles and make a phone
Motorola has unveiled a mobile phone made out of recycled water bottles.
Motorola on Tuesday introduced the MOTO W233 Renew a 3G phone that’s 
made from recycled water bottles. It’s a bit gimmicky, but Motorola can use all the buzz it can get at the Consumer Electronic Show this week.
Here’s the pitch:
MOTO W233 Renew delivers the quality you expect from a Motorola device while empowering you to reduce your carbon footprint. Not only is the plastic housing of Renew made from plastics comprised of recycled water bottles and 100 percent recyclable, but it is also the world’s first carbon neutral phone. Through an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola offsets the carbon dioxide required to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation. The phone has earned Carbonfund.org’s CarbonFree Product Certification after an extensive product life-cycle assessment.
While any product that claims to be carbon neutral wants me to run directly to the footnotes, Motorola could be on to something. The W233 will first launch in the first quarter on T-Mobile. Is there a market for an eco-phone?
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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