Finland's leading nature magazine Suomen Luonto has awarded its annual "most useless" title this year to electronic devices that are so difficult to repair that they have in practice become disposable items.
The annual title, conferred by the magazine's publisher the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, is intended to highlight unsustainable consumption trends.
Smart phones received special mention for not being designed and manufactured for long-term use, for being difficult to repair, and for being overpriced.
"The reasons for their unsuitability for repair can be found in both consumer buying and recycling habits, as well as manufacturers' policies," Suomen Luonto's Editor-in-chief Heikki Vasamies said in a press release on the award.
The Finnish Association for Nature Conservation selects items and phenomena for the dubious honour of being named the most useless of the year from suggestions from readers of its Suomen Luonto magazine.
Last year's award went to fast fashion.