If you’re someone who likes their hard earned money to fund good causes, you can now kill two birds with one cell phone. Earth Tones, a new MVNO under the AT&T network, sends every penny of profit to grassroots environmental organizations. So instead of lining the pockets of AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, you can line the pockets of organizations such as The National Environmental Law Center and Free The Planet. Sure, AT&T still gets their cut, just as any major carrier does when they sell wholesale spectrum to an MVNO. The difference is that the MVNO doesn’t take your money and run. They donate it all, so you can be sure that your dollars are going to work, rather than sitting in a Swiss bank account. They have very competitive pricing, and unlike Democracy Wireless, there is no contract to sign. That’s remarkable, because you can get 1200 anytime minutes for just $85 per month — with no obligation to use the service the following month. Seriously, 600 anytime minutes for $45 per month? Yeah, that sounds mighty fine to us. The best part is that you can add a line for $10 per month — so you can split 1200 minutes for $95 per month. That’s simply brilliant. You even get a $75 subsidy on any phone purchase — though there are only four available at the moment. Still, it’s a nice gesture by the company. Rare is the company that will hand you a phone for free (there is one Nokia that you don’t have to pay for) and not make you sign your life away. A $40 activation fee applies, but we think that is a small price to pay for avoiding a stifling contract. They also will take your old phone and dispose of it properly, so that you’re not doing any harm to the environment. Oh, and if you have an AT&T phone laying around — even and iPhone — you can use it with Earth Tones Wireless. They have all of AT&T’s data capabilities, so you can use your iPhone freely without feeling guilty about, well, anything. It’s an interesting business model, and one we’d like to see mimicked in the coming days, months, years, whatever. [Green Options] [Earth Tones Wireless]]]>
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