Samsung touts eco-sustainability in Beijing with new ‘green phone’

With the whole world watching, the Olympic Games in China are a great time and place to deliver messages to the world. Samsung’s message to the world (today): We care.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. touted its new E200 Eco handset, set for European launch in September, with a casing made of bio-plastic (plastic derived from plant materials). European consumers, in particular, have shown interest in purchasing “eco-friendly” electronics.
The E200 is a GSM tri-band slider with a 1.3 megapixel camera, music player and Bluetooth connectivity. Its color, naturally, is green. No word yet on pricing.
Samsung recently received relatively good marks for its efforts from Greenpeace, which cited Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and Nokia Corp. as the leading eco-friendly phone vendors. Sony Ericsson, for instance, has already eliminated substances such as PVC and many chemicals from its handsets.
Samsung said it meets current European Union and Chinese regulations on the restriction of hazardous substances and the company gave a timeline for its voluntary elimination of many suspected hazardous materials such as BFRs and PVCs. (BFR stands for brominated flame retardant; PVC stands for polyvinyl chloride.) The company said it would eliminate BFRs and PVCs from all new products by 2010.
Samsung also drew attention to its W510 and F268 “eco-friendly” handsets, unveiled earlier this year.
The W510 was Samsung’s first to feature a bio-plastic casing and the company pointed out that it was produced without the use of heavy metals, such as lead, mercury or cadmium.
The F268, the company claimed, is “the first BFR/PVC-free mobile phone.” BFRs and PVCs have been targeted by regulators and watchdog groups as hazardous materials.