Can we revive an old Garfield phone?

1 July 2026

1 min read

India van Spall

Find out what happens when Back Market’s refurbishment expert is given some cat-shaped tech that’s been washed out at sea for decades. Can he actually fix it? Yes, he can.

Last month, Back Market launched a short documentary, Silly Little Plastic Cat. Set on the coast of Brittany, France, it tells the story of a shipping container packed full of Garfield phone merchandise – the lasagne-loving cartoon cat created by Jim Davis – that was lost at sea in the 1980s. But as the film reveals, waste doesn’t simply disappear, it just drifts out of sight.

Decades later and debris from hundreds of these kitsch cat-shaped phones is still washing up on local beaches, polluting the coastline and impacting surrounding wildlife. And while local collectors and environmental groups have worked endlessly to recover and clean up the e-waste, there are still plenty of orange felines hiding among the rocks.

In true Back Market fashion, we wanted to see whether one of these long-lost electronics could be given a second life. Could a Garfield phone that had spent years at sea actually be refurbished and made functional again? To find out, we put our refurbishment expert, Kewin Charron, on the case. 

Using the outer shells of Garfield phones recovered from the coastline, Kewin got to work. To get the electronics, speaker and microphone working properly, he also sourced a functional Garfield phone to harvest compatible components. “I was expecting the recovered phones to be too damaged to be re-used after spending years at sea,” says Charron. “But the casing was still reusable.” 

Want to know how he did it? Take a look at the step-by-step process below.

“Dissecting Garfield's nervous system — scrubbing corrosion off the internal electronics to salvage every last reusable component.”

“The ocean left its mark — meticulously removing sea salt and sand residue from the outer shell to bring the iconic body back to life.”

“Round two of circuit surgery — repeating the deep clean on a second batch of internal electronics, because no chip gets left behind.”

“A new brain for an old cat — wiring Garfield's soul into a Raspberry Pi and breathing 21st-century intelligence into a 1980s icon. Full disclosure, this part didn’t come from the sea.”

“Double the brains, double the fun — configuring a second Raspberry Pi to mirror Garfield's new digital mind.”

 “Salt never sleeps — another round of shell restoration, stripping away the sea's stubborn grip on Garfield's iconic orange coat.”

 “Bridging two eras — fitting a landline-to-digital converter so Garfield's original speakers and mic can speak a modern language.”

“Steady hands, hot iron — soldering the speakers and mic back into place, one careful joint at a time.”

“The art of repetition — another round of precision soldering to make sure every voice finds its way through.”

“Even the lifeline needs love — cleaning the cord so Garfield stays tethered to the world in style.”

“Ultrasonic baptism — blasting Garfield's head with ultrasonic waves to evict every grain of salt and trace of brine.”

“The finishing touch — painting the eyes, because a Garfield without that sleepy, knowing gaze isn't really Garfield at all.”

THE END!

Written by India van Spall

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