Back Market’s Slow Tech Summit Made a Stand Against Upgrade Culture

Here’s how the event inspired journalists, activists, and athletes to make their tech last longer.

When a typical smartphone is made, it needs approximately 266 kg of raw materials and produces 80% of its carbon footprint in the first minute it’s turned on. As well as having a number of environmental effects, extracting the materials also comes with ethical and geopolitical costs.

This is where Back Market’s Slow Tech Summit comes in. Taking place in Paris last week, the one-day event aimed to explore how we can make devices last at least 10 years as an alternative to buying a new smartphone. Through a diverse programme, the refurbished tech marketplace welcomed journalists, scientists, activists, as well as designers, creators and athletes to understand the cost of new technology.

Over the day, talks and debates were held with a line-up of industry experts: Back Market co-founder and executive chairman Thibaud Hug de Larauze; REEcover CEO Dr. Marie Perrin; Journalist Alice Pfeiffer; Génération Lumière founder David Maenda Kithoko; and journalist and author of Power Metal, Vince Beiser. Following discussions of extraction through their respective fields, Back Market CPO Amandine Durr also took the stage to share instant solutions for reusing tech with the announcement of Back Market Outlet.

Offering a more hands-on approach to repair, several creators were on the ground with specially curated workshops. Italian analog archivist Davide Bonetti, better known as lecronachedidave, worked directly with repurposed technology in the Obsolescence as a Creative Tool masterclass, showing how these parts provide new possibilities in design, music and content creation with his magic TV. Delving deeper into the craft space, British creator Ube Boobey brought an imaginative lens to reclaimed components, guiding guests through a workshop in creating a cyber deck.

The space was complete with a Slow Tech exhibition. Serving as a reminder of the harrowing cost of upgrades, it featured immersive images and displays that captured the environmental, geopolitical, and human impact of sourcing materials.

If you missed out, explore the Slow Tech Summit in the gallery above.

Shop Back Market’s refurbished tech online now. Find out more about the cost of new devices and how to take action on its dedicated MineMyPhone webpage.