Tell Spotify: Don’t junk the Car Thing

Your decision to stop supporting all Car Thing players just three years after its launch is bad for consumers and the environment. The U.S. gets rid of more than 500 pounds of electronic waste each second, and more than 16,000 jumbo jets’ worth of e-waste every year.

If it’s not economically feasible to keep supporting Car Thing, you should share the tools that make it easier for consumers to keep using it and for repair people to keep fixing it. While much of the software that Car Thing runs on is open source, regular users should be able to install new software on the device without having to be experts. Spotify should release a one-click tool to install software and allow the Car Thing to transition to a general computing device with new features. Software shouldn’t be the reason we throw out tech that still works, yet this seems to be the fate of all of our internet-connected hardware. Spotify can help lead the way to a more sustainable future by charting a better path.

Live up to your values of “[being] part of the solution” on climate change, prevent unnecessary electronic waste, and release the tools users need to keep supporting the Car Thing.