Nokia is trying to tempt people to its monthly subscription service ‘Circular’ this festive season – by adding a Christmas tree into the bargain.
Londoners who sign up to Circular in the next few days will get the ‘rental’ tree, allegedly worth up to £100, delivered to their door.
The tree will then be picked up in the new year and replanted at a farm in Bedfordshire to be reused in a year’s time, in an effort to tackle waste.
More than eight million Christmas trees are thrown away each year in the UK, with many dumped or abandoned on the streets.
Nokia is trying to tempt people to its monthly subscription service this festive season by adding a Christmas tree into the bargain
HMD Global has partnered with Christmas tree delivery company Tree2Me for the initiative, which is deliver fir trees to people who live in London
Circular was launched earlier this year by Finnish company HMD Global, the exclusive licensee of the Nokia brand.
The subscription service includes a £30 set-up fee, with phones and tablets then available for a range of prices, starting at £10 per month.
HMD Global has partnered with Christmas tree delivery company Tree2Me for the initiative, which marks the first time a non-tech item has been bundled in with Circular.
The tree offer is only valid through Circular until December 12, except for the newest Nokia flagship smartphone, the Nokia X30 5G, which runs until December 16.
‘Tree2Me share our values, eliminating Christmas trees being sent to landfill in the new year,’ said Lisa Higgins, head of marketing at HMD Global.
‘They are replanted and given a new life, in the same way a Nokia phone is as part of Circular. With less waste, everyone wins.’
Bundling Christmas trees has been included with Circular in keeping with the service’s eco-conscious focus, which reduces e-waste and minimises the negative impact phone ownership can have on the planet, HMD Global said.
Circular encourages people to keep their phones and tablets for longer by offering them eco-friendly incentives.
The scheme awards users more ‘seeds’ the longer they keep a device, with these seeds then able to be used towards supporting sustainability or charitable efforts around the world.
These include planting trees or reducing carbon, backing a firm removing plastic from rivers, or providing connectivity to those in need.
‘Subscribe to change’: HMD Global, the maker of Nokia devices, is letting phone users ‘enjoy environmental rewards’ with the new subscription service
Accidental damage, loss or theft of devices are also taken care of by HMD Global as part of the subscription without extra cost, so subscribers can get a new one delivered to them.
Even if subscribers just don’t want their Circular device anymore, they can send it back and it will be refurbished and sent to a new subscriber.
Circular reduces e-waste and in turn minimises the negative impact phone ownership can have on the planet, HMD Global said.
When signing up to Circular, users can choose one of five new Nokia devices to purchase – three smartphones (Nokia X30 5G, Nokia G60 5G, Nokia XR20) or two tablets (Nokia T10 and Nokia T21).
Each option comes with a monthly price to pay through Circular; for example, the Nokia X30 5G costs £22 per month (or per 30 days to be precise).
It does mean that at some point during the subscription, those signed up will have spent more money than the phone’s outright price.
For example, the Nokia X30 5G smartphone is currently priced at £399, so after around 18 months subscribers would have paid this amount through their subscription.
However, Circular keeps automatically charging the subscriber, just like a video streaming service.
Users do have the option to cancel their subscription, as long as they’ve been on Circular for at least three months.
A spokesperson for HMD Global told MailOnline that Circular subscribers are not only paying for the device, but peace of mind that their eco-footprint is being reduced.
Circular also lets people swap their device for another one under the subscription and have it posted to them, although if they do this the amount they pay per month will change.
The free Christmas tree, worth up to £100, is for London-based customers who sign up to Circular, the firm’s subscription service
More than eight million Christmas trees are thrown away each year in the UK, with many dumped or abandoned on the streets in the days after New Year
HMD Global launched Circular at IFA Berlin in September, as well as the multiple new devices that are available through the service.
One of them, the Nokia X30 5G, described as the most eco-friendly Nokia phone yet, is made from 100 per cent recycled aluminium and 65 per cent recycled plastic.
Also, the Nokia T21 tablet has been designed with a tough body made with aluminium that features a 60 per cent recycled plastic cover.
HMD Global said other devices will become available under Circular soon. It could also bundle more non-techy items in with Circular in the future.
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