Sony presents a special version of the LinkBuds S called Earth Blue. English speakers will immediately grasp the reference to the planet, to those who are less familiar just look at the coloring of the case and earphones. The Sony LinkBuds S Earth Blue thus embrace the concept of environmental sustainability, which we hope (and we should all hope) will begin to permeate the consumer electronics segment, notoriously greedy for resources, more and more consistently.
The Japanese company does its own, and offers LinkBuds S (presented in May, we tried them here) in which some parts of the structure and case are made with a resin obtained from the recycling of plastic from water bottles. “This proprietary material was originally developed to seek a new expression of design, with the aim of expanding the potential uses of recycled materials obtained from water dispensers, exploiting their adhesive properties. On LinkBuds S Earth Blue, the material obtained creates a pattern characterized by an original marble effect, which changes from product to product”.
So each unit should be different from the other, a typical feature of handmade objects that in a certain sense embellishes, for other reasons, a mass-produced accessory such as the LinkBuds S Earth Blue. And this is precisely the most interesting aspect of Sony’s idea, to insert recycled elements on relatively cheap objects and therefore with important numbers.
The news helps Sony achieve its long-term Road to Zero goal of zero environmental impact by 2050. However, a long-term goal is achieved through intermediate stages; these include the reduction of energy consumption of products, the use of renewable energy, the introduction of recycled plastic, and this is the case of LinkBuds S Earth Blue, and the elimination of plastic from packaging, and this is the case of all LinkBuds S in which recycled materials from the automotive world are used.
The debut of the LinkBuds S Earth Blue will coincide with the arrival of a software update that will bring the Bluetooth multipoint connection to all LinkBuds, i.e. the ability to connect two devices simultaneously. Later in winter, the WF-1000XM4 will also receive it.
AVAILABILITY AND INITIATIVES
The Sony LinkBuds S Earth Blue will be available for purchase in Italy from November. The company has not disclosed the list price, but it is easy to imagine that it is that of the “classic” LinkBuds S, ie 180 euros. Sony said it will donate $2 for each unit sold to Conservation International, an international non-governmental organization active in 70 countries that has been educating companies to protect nature and global biodiversity since 1987.
That means each purchase will help protect nearly 58,824 square feet of ocean — the equivalent of 47 Olympic-size swimming pools, according to the organization’s data.
