It can be argued that mobile phones are inherently green. After all, they pack a hefty technological punch in a small package, reducing the need to keep a PC or laptop up and running to perform common computing tasks. Nonetheless, some mobile handset makers have are making an effort like reducing packaging and incorporating instruction manuals into the device’s software.

But there’s one area that’s causing concern and there’s: toxic chemicals. Maybe it’s because we carry them with us all day and have them in close proximity to, or physically touching, our bodies. IT Pro touches on the problem:

Nardono Nimpuno, the international chemical secretariat for ChemSec, believes the main obstacle is the chemicals that are used to make the phones in the first place.

In an interview with IT PRO, Nimpuno said: “It is hard for anyone to accept a daily consumer product is harmful, as well as hard to prove. People and companies find it easier to go fair trade or eco-friendly with food as mobiles are complex enough as it is.”

“However, in themselves the chemicals used to make the phones disrupt hormones and can disrupt reproduction. Yes, they are encased in the product, but what about during production if there are leaks, and what do you do at the end of a phone’s life?”

There’s a ways to go, but companies are taking steps. Take Sony Ericsson’s C901 GreenHeart (pictured above), for instance, which has a housing made of recycled plastic and is made several toxic chemical compounds.

Hasn’t set the world on fire, but it’s a start.