It is currently unclear to what extent cell phone reuse cannibalizes new product sales and thus reduces new handset production. The potential of reuse to cannibalize new cell phone sales is an economic threat to cell phone manufacturers, in particular since they are not engaged in reuse themselves. Cell phone refurbishers may thus also prefer low displacement rates in order to obtain the cooperation of the manufacturers. In the most optimistic case, refurbishers have no or little interest in the displacement dynamics of cell phone reuse, since their profitability is driven by the reuse yield, not by the displacement rate.
Unfortunately, for many reuse and recycling activities, displaced production is what generates most of their environmental benefits.
This means that the economic incentives of cell phone manufactures and refurbishers are currently not well aligned with the environmental performance of reuse.