It arrived last Monday: text messaging and anytime minutes behind a shiny silver faceplate. After a couple years of living cell phone-free, I finally found a company that makes me feel good about owning one. It’s consumer activism made sweet and easy.

Earth Tones is a phone and Internet company that donates 100% of its profits to environmental causes. That’s because it’s run by the environmental organizations it funds. If you’re not satisfied with choosing between AT&T and AT&T, but you still want the shiny silver faceplate with anytime minutes, then consider Earth Tones. In addition to cell phones, Earth Tones also provides long distance home phone, dial-up, and portable high-speed Internet services.

Their website may not have 3D animated effects, and my new phone can’t play itunes or brew my morning tea, but the phone was free, the plan’s inexpensive, and my satisfaction is solid green. (For those who are interested, many morning-tea-brewing-type phones are also available, like the Razr V3; you can even use your new iPhone.)

Which environmental non-profits does Earth Tones fund? Here’s a roll call:

• The State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs)
  
• The National Environmental Law Center
  
• The Green Life
  Campaign to Save the Environment
  
• Toxics Action Center
• ecopledge.com
• Recycling Action Campaign (promoting recycling in Massachusetts)
• Free The Planet!

Earth Tones still works through AT&T’s Cingular phone network, but for the same monthly rate your money can fund environmental initiatives. Here’s some more good news: if you currently own a phone that works with AT&T or if you have been yearning to get your hands on an iphone, you can use either with Earth Tones’ service.

Fewer cell phones these days contain toxic materials such as cadmium and lead, as an article from Inter Press Service discusses. However, your old phone may still contain these toxins; it is important to dispose of it safely. With proper cell phone disposal, you can prevent screen and battery chemicals from leeching into landfills (see this article from Cell Phones Etc.), raise funds for charity, and even earn a tax deduction. If you’re changing cell phones or getting rid of an old one, make sure it doesn’t end up in the trash. Visit earth911.org or recyclemycellphone.org, or donate your phone through your current wireless provider at the web addresses listed in this article on About.com.

Resources:

Also, see the following Tip ‘o the Day articles about environmental responsibility and cell phones, written by my fellow bloggers on Green Options:

Tip o’ the Day: Keep Going and Going and Going to Recycle Your Batteries by Rebecca Carter.
Tip o’ the Day: Unplug that Cell Phone Charger by Amy Stodghill.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tammer/21241151/