Let’s face it, our obsession with new technology just isn’t environmentally healthy. As much as we love getting a new phone every few months and a new console every few years, our love of technological innovation is hurting the planet; we’re not playing the blame game, we’re not trying to preach or throw facts and figures at you - we’re simply stating a fact.
French studio Lëkki is aware of that fact, and they want to do something about it.
For the last few years, Lëkki has been refurbishing, recolorizing and revamping the technology that we grew up with. Suddenly our favorite consoles from the ’90s have lost their drab gray shell, yellowing and cracked with age, in favor of a brand new design. Lëkki produce the Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo and Gameboy (both color and pocket) in two-toned color schemes that emphasize the design and features of the original.
Their modernized duo-chromatic video game consoles not only look great on a shelf, they help to save the Earth; while the average modern console uses over 100 watts to run, the N64 uses only 20 - and the SNES only 10. Tha’s not even mentioning the carbon footprint left by the production of each and every new console produced - something that doesn’t apply to the Lëkki consoles since the footprints from these old consoles faded years ago.
In their own words “By customizing revamped second-hand mobile phones and handheld video game systems, [we make] a commitment to sustainable development and recycling, through putting iconic objects from the past into service”.
But they don’t stop there. From the date of purchase, Lëkki customers have 2 years to return their device and recycle it within a clean network.
As their slogan states, Lëkki wants to return to the basics. They feel that we have not only become slaves to the endless cycle of new technology, but to social networks and other forms of electronic communication that bombard us constantly. By modernizing 20 year old technology, they not only close a loop environmentally, but remove many of the features that keep us distracted all day long.
We’re not quite about to smash our smartphones with a hammer and throw our beloved PlayStations off of a cliff, and we’re sure as hell not ready to cease our incessant Twitter use, but Lëkki’s mission gives us a reason to stop and think; exclusively playing games that are 20 years old isn’t viable, and living in the modern world with a less-than-smartphone is becoming increasingly difficult, but the idea of sustainable technology with a longer lifespan is a step in the right direction. And at the very least, they look damn good on a shelf.
You can check out Lëkki’s website here.
