Crazy Gift-Giving with A Cause And An Ap-Peal : Introducing The Banana Phone

You can’t any cuter than this new gadget just in time for the gift-giving season, one with a catchy-ad tagline, ecstatically goofy owners, and a seriously fun product that supports gorilla conservation.  Get it?  A phone that looks like a banana, that really works, and that gives back….to the gorillas. 

As yellow as a ripe banana, and so authentic looking, your guest just might try to take a bite out of it.  Which is perfect, since the owners, made up of long time Buffalo buddies Brian Brunsing, Charlie Katrycz, and Max Brown, want to “take a bite out of the Apple and android phone market.”  The phone, once connected to Bluetooth, can be used as a phone, can be used to make calls, can be used as a speaker for your playlist, or favorite podcast.  It will certainly be a great conversation starter, icebreaker, and novelty party gift.  At a promotional price of $39.99, it might just fulfill the gag gift price requirement at this year’s holiday party.

But here’s where the story gets ripe: the founders of Banana Phone are part of 1% for the Planet, an organization begun in 2002 by two outdoorsy companies, Patagonia and Blue Ribbon Flies. Their respective founders bonded together and formed this charity with a modern mindset: a “global movement” to give 1% of their sales back to the environment – and get this – whether profitable or not.  Many other companies and individuals joined in including singer-songwriter Jack Johnson who’s working towards protecting the shores of Hawaii, his home state.  To date, there are 3000 members with the mission to “bring dollars and doers together to accelerate smart environment giving.”

At Banana Phone, which is based in upstate New York, the belief is that we all have a responsibility “to do good,” even creating the phone with the environment in mind with ethically sourced, 100% recycled plastics, and packaging that is 100 % recyclable.  The business trio have doubled their minimum donation to 2% towards “Gearing up 4 Gorillas” which focuses on a dwindling population of a rare mountain gorilla in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Banana Phone Features:
Connects to Apple and android phones
Can be used as a Bluetooth speaker
Comes with rechargeable USB cable
20-hour talk time

For more information:
Bananaphone.io
Onepercentfortheplanet.org

Photos courtesy of Banana Phone