LG looked around at the planet and concluded that it's in a sorry state, so it decided to embark on some sort of eco-friendly manufacturing initiative (this decision might also have been influenced by marketing factors as well, you know how the world turns). At this year's Mobile World Congress, the company presented a tree-hugging mobile phone featuring a solar panel battery cover.

Apparently, it will get you enough energy for a solid half an hour worth of talking after a mere 10 minutes period of solar recharging. Of course, this can be really useful when there's no electricity around – the harnessed variety, because one does not recharge one's mobile from electric storms, or if one does, one tends to overcharge the mobile and, possibly, oneself. Anyway, in its green-smelling press release, LG promises that, if you have the wisdom and patience to leave this mobile “in natural light for long periods,” it will have enough power to stand by on its own. The actual launch of the product is planned for the end of the year.

This eco-friendly phone is not the only Captain Planet-like action prepared by LG. If you happened to visit this January's Consumer Electronics Show, you might have seen the LG HFB-500 Bluetooth solar car kit. By using it, you can benefit from the hands free mobile function and your conscience is more at ease; because it will always remind you with a sigh of relief that the great Ra (like in Egyptian Sun God Ra) powers the car kit, not the polluting hand of man. Or, at least, that's what the script says.

But wait, there's more. LG means to change its manufacturing ways from the bottom up, by avoiding the use of certain unhealthy, dangerous or polluting materials that the mobile industry still nonchalantly uses. We're talking about stuff like halogenated substances, brominated and chlorinated flame retardants, polyvinyl chloride and so on and so forth – LG plans to get rid of these by 2010. The company also plans to introduce some sort of green packaging. We'll get to find out more about its projects at this year's Mobile World congress.  


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