Global economy

Example: Mobile telephone manufacturing and disposal

Nowadays every European owns a mobile telephone, many have two. The mobile phone represents our modern, fast-moving and flexible society more than any other product. Telephoning, sending text messages, taking photos and posting instantly on Facebook are day to day actions for Europeans. However, the trendy lifestyle which telephone manufacturers sell with their products is only one side of the mobile telephone coin. On the other side there are dubious working conditions, exploitation of the environment, increased global division of labour and private debt. This multifaceted nature makes the mobile telephone a central topic of the economy.

The lifecycle of a mobile telephone is comprised of three important steps:

• Raw materials and their extraction
• Mobile telephone production
• Disposal and Recycling