Vodafone asks Brits to donate unwanted phones for ‘ReBoxing Day’
Vodafone has put a festive twist on its ongoing ‘everyone connected’ initiative after asking Brits to donate unused smartphones, tablets and laptops to help the 1.5 million households without modern devices and internet access.
The newly launched ‘ReBoxing Day’ campaign is being given a major promotion push by Vodafone during December after its own research found that the average UK household currently has more than £800 worth of devices gathering dust in drawers and cupboards.
While eight in 10 people say that they have at least one unwanted smartphone, the average adult hasn’t had a tech clear-out since 2018, and many are unaware that they can donate devices to charity.
This means that a collective £20bn in devices could be put to better use, especially when 1.5 million homes in the UK are struggling with ‘digital exclusion’, which prevents them from conducting basic but often critical online tasks.
“With so much of modern life centred around technology, those who do not have access to it risk getting left behind,” Vodafone UK consumer director Max Taylor said.
Despite a growing wealth disparity, 20% of people in the UK say that they are unaware of poverty problems across the country, though more encouraging is the fact that a third want to donate devices to help others.
Vodafone’s campaign will see any donated devices distributed to people in need via its charity partner Barnardo’s, with the added bonus of plans with free calls, texts and data.
Vodafone says that everyone can donate regardless of their current mobile provider.