Big companies need to be held accountable, especially since nearly half of all plastic produced is for single-use items, but as consumers, we can make a difference, too.

Sustainability is on everyone's mind, with the bushfires destroying Australia's wildlife and the fight for policy changes. Thankfully, buying ethically has never been easier.

People are flocking to the plastic-free movement, which is a combination of finding better alternatives and reorienting your life to use less plastic.

One of the areas that's still tricky to overcome is electronics. Sure, you can be extra crunchy and go off the grid, earning Environmental Cool Points, or you can live in the 21st century.

Unfortunately, even when taking good care of your phone, that also means dealing with planned obsolescence. That's the artificial limit of function that causes your perfectly fine phone to fizzle out after just a couple years, or, suspiciously, right before a new phone's release.

Not only have phones become a necessity, but you need a case unless you like to live on the edge. And that means contributing to the one million plastic phone cases that are made every year.

Customers looking for eco-friendly phone cases are out of luck browsing the Apple or Verizon store. Wine corks are great for upcycling, but most phone cases are still made with a percentage of plastic, and wood cases are often sealed with chemicals that aren't necessarily nontoxic.

Pela has filled the void in the market to create a brand new material; say hello to 100% plastic-free compostable phone cases.

Get familiar with Flaxstic®; Pela's patented plant-based combination of bioplastic elastomer and flax straw material. It creates durable, flexible phone cases that won't end up in a landfill. When you're done, either compost the cases yourself or return them to Pela, who will recycle them for new cases and give you 20% off your next case.

The cases are sturdy, attractive, and flecked with tiny, colorful pieces of flax, so each case is one-of-a-kind. They come in bright colors, neutrals, and some have images of turtles, bees, sharks, mermaids, waves, you name it.

Pela is a member of 1% for the Planet, committing to donate at least 1% of profits to environmental organizations. With some of their phone cases, they honor the animals and causes they're saving.

Pela has created a design that's also friendly for parents who have kids who enjoy chewing or throwing phones. There's no sacrifice of safety or convenience here - the material's free of phthalates, BPAs, cadmium, and lead, and the phones are designed to bounce. Pela offers a 90-day Happiness Guarantee, if you're worried it's not sturdy enough.

If you're purchasing a new phone, that means a new case. When you see these, you'll never know why you bought toxic, wasteful, plastic cases for so long.

Global consciousness demands non-toxic, safe, biodegradable, and environmentally-friendly alternatives to plastic cases, and we demand that they protect our phones and also look amazing.

Update: The folks at Pela Case are extending a special offer to our readers! Get 10% OFF Your Pela Case Today!