Earbuds are often very sensitive: they are easy to lose, at a certain point you see the battery life drop significantly and the eartips eventually start to get dirtier or even break. There isn’t much you can do about the first one, except use wired earplugs, but there is a solution for the other two things: Fairbuds. These are the new, sustainable earbuds from Fairphone and you can purchase them for 149 euros.
Fairbuds
What you get for those 149 euros are earplugs with a subtle shape, which you first have to figure out exactly how they fit in your ear. However, once you realize that, they are nice and comfortable. You will notice that pairing the earbuds with your smartphone is also easy: the Fairbuds app, in which we could previously only find the Fairbuds XL headphones, now also offers support for the Fairbuds earbuds and via that app (but also directly via Bluetooth) you will then be able to connect the earbuds to your phone.
Once you have done that, you can start listening. Our experience with these earbuds is that they can produce quite a bit of sound with their 11 millimeter drivers, but that they can still be tweaked. While many earbuds are adjusted fairly ‘generally’ straight out of the box, to a type of audio that many people like according to research, the Fairbuds initially seem a bit out of balance. Fortunately, that app is there, because it allows you to tailor the sound a little more to what you like. More emphasis on high tones, for example, or a boost in bass. Yet we must be honest: the sound experience is not very premium. It sounds good, but there are earplugs in this price category that sound considerably better.
Sustainability
But that doesn’t have to be the end of it for the Fairbuds. In return, you get an earplug that is much more sustainable than those competitors. Firstly, you get a 3-year warranty instead of the standard 2 years and secondly, you can repair them yourself. Those essential batteries can also be replaced: those of both the case and the earbuds themselves. The earbuds last an average of 5 hours, with the case included you can charge up to 26 hours of listening to music after one plug. After charging for 10 minutes, the earbuds last 1.5 hours. You can also replace the silicone ring, the eartips, the outside of the earbuds and the case and the core of the charging case. So it’s your job to make sure you don’t lose the earplugs, because pretty much everything else can be fixed.
However, this durability goes further than just being repairable. There are various initiatives from Fairphone to ensure that the earplugs are also produced sustainably. For every pair of earplugs made, a comparable weight of electronic waste is recycled and the earplugs are also made climate neutral through CO2 projects in which Fairphone participates. The earbuds and their case consist of almost 70 percent recycled material and 100 percent of the rare materials of these earbuds, such as certain metals, are recycled. The earbuds are IP54 certified, which means they can survive a sudden rain shower while cycling, but not a dip in the pool.
Conclusion
While we would probably have recommended these earbuds less if they were regular variants, the audio is good enough for people who primarily value durability and do not necessarily demand the best price/quality in terms of audio experience. It is a pity that the Fairbuds are not as well prepared when it comes to audio experience, because the Fairbuds XL did, but the disadvantage was that they were very heavy, while these earbuds are very light and comfortable. So there are pluses and minuses, but for those who value sustainability, or who enjoy wearing Dutch earplugs without the audio having to be top-notch, it is nice that there is finally a climate-neutral alternative.
