The Brother Product Life Cycle

Man sat in blue tshirt in front of a laptop surrounded by tools

Design

All our products are designed and built to last.

Our expert engineers are working tirelessly to develop innovative modular printers that use less plastic, produce lower emissions, and feature easily replaceable parts. These printers maintain high specifications for print speed and quality, making them ideal for use in a circular economy.

Our products are designed to meet the most stringent, environmentally-conscious labels such as Blue Angel and Nordic Swan.

Innovations like the Maxidrive print head for our latest inkjet products and the Planar Heating Element (PHE) which fuses toner to the paper on our latest mono laser products, enhance durability and energy-efficiency.

Based on customer demand and feedback, we are continually designing and developing products in other areas. From linerless labelling devices which reduce waste, to highly productive machine tools and garment printing which automates the pre and post-processing of printing.

A hand holding a tool fixing an opened up printer

Production

Our printer hardware is manufactured in facilities adhering to the highest sustainability standards.

All four of our global printing facilities are Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) certified, reflecting our commitment to sustainable supply chains.

We have also been awarded a Silver Medal from EcoVadis, who have implemented a sustainability assessment of our organisation since 2020.

So our customers can be confident that at every stage of the process we take measures to protect the people and environments across the whole production chain.

Cardboard boxes stacked on top of each other

Packaging and logistics

As part of our design process, we continuously work to reduce the impact of the materials used in products, packaging, and distribution.

On a step-by-step basis, we are making enhancements to our packaging to include the following:

Less virgin plastic materials
Removal of expanded polystyrene (EPS) packaging
Reduced waste and smaller, more recyclable packaging

These measures have helped reduce the plastic content in our packaging compared to previous versions.

Also, by combining different product categories (printers, scanners and labelling devices) for shipment, we maximise load efficiency and reduce CO₂ emissions.

Learn more about our recycling packaging

Sales

As an organisation, we've been adopting more sustainable business practices to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

From simple everyday changes like increasing the number of motion sensors and dimmers across our estate, to developing our two carbon-neutral recycling facilities to run entirely on green energy.

Man on laptop with woman in background next to a printer holding a piece of paper

Using our products

Our products are not only built to last, they're built to be used.

Our printer design allows easy replacement of worn parts, extending product life.

Features that reduce their environmental footprint include:

Power save mode: reduces power consumption when not in use
Toner save mode: uses less toner, reducing wear and tear on components
Warm-up time: Planar Heating Element (PHE) technology shortens warm-up time, saving energy
Reduced paper consumption: 2 in 1 printing, standard built-in duplex printing and N in1 printing

Man crouched down fixing printer in office with window in background

Service

All our products come with award-winning customer support through our Brother 'At your side' promise, ensuring help from setup to ongoing service and maintenance.

We design repairable products, making it easier to fix or replace parts than the whole device.

Warranties on our home office devices guarantee repairs, so our customers can keep on printing.

For business customers, we offer a range of printers and flexible services, as well as access to professional Brother experts at every stage of the process to make sure everything is always functioning and optimised over time.

Man and woman in a factory placing a printer into a cardboard box

Collection and reuse

The final stage of The Brother Product Life Cycle involves our customer's responsibility to take a lead and deliver the devices they wish to dispose of to the nearest used electronical device collection point or back to the dealer they where purchase from for recycling.

Together we can make sure our devices don't end up in landfills but are recycled or reused as they should be, contributing to the circular economy.

Two men and a woman inspecting a toner cartridges surrounded by a cage

Product environmental information

Brother products comply with all legal requirements and, along with our sustainable business practices, have received a number of industry-recognised certifications.

View certifications

Market-leading
remanufacturing

Discover Renew By Brother, our ink and toner cartridge remanufacturing programme and find out how you can support us by recycling your used printer cartridges.

Remanufacturing at Brother

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65% less emissions
by 2030

We believe sustainability is about operating responsibly; but more than that, it's an opportunity to support the communities we're a part of and to have a positive impact on the world.

Sustainability at Brother