Hands-On with the Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse

The Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse is made of 20 percent recycled ocean plastic, and it comes in a 100 percent recycled box. Microsoft calls it “a breakthrough in materials technology,” but I think it’s fairer to simply describe it as a baby step towards its sustainability promises for the future.

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And that’s fine: you have to start somewhere. And the $25 Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse—$22.50 for eligible students, parents, teachers, and military—isn’t such a bad place to start. It’s a cute little ambidextrous mouse that will be equally non-ergonomic for righties and lefties, and it can allegedly last up to 12 months using just a single AA battery (which is included).

Connectivity couldn’t be easier: thanks to its use of Bluetooth-based Swift Pair technology, you can simply press and hold on the Power/Pair button on its bottom for three seconds, and Windows 10 or 11 will immediately ask to pair, and there are no driver installs required. Well, unless you want to configure its three buttons—left, center (wheel), and right—to work differently than the default. In that case, you’ll need to find and install Microsoft’s Mouse and Keyboard Center software.

In use, the Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse feels every bit as cheap as its asking price, but that’s fine: the mouse is actually kind of adorable in a bar of soap way, and it should be quite portable. It’s a bit small for my large hands, but it would do well in a pinch.

Of course, the big deal here is the sustainability angle, which isn’t as great as it could be, frankly. That 20 percent bit refers only to the shell of the mouse, and not to the entire device. And other hardware makers are much further along in their use of ocean-bound and ocean-recovered plastics than is Microsoft. They’ll get there, I’m sure.

You can learn more about the Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse from the Microsoft website. And if you want to buy one for yourself, you can do so from the Microsoft Store.

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Conversation 16 comments

  • jaredthegeek

    Premium Member
    05 October, 2021 - 2:30 pm

    <p>This is a show piece. If they were serious they would have just started with the 20% ocean plastics in a regular looking mouse. This is a statement piece to say "Hey we are doing something". Its got to look unique like a Prius.</p>

    • jdawgnoonan

      05 October, 2021 - 3:35 pm

      <p>Any product that is "Ecofreidnly" or "Green" in any way would be advertised as being marginally less bad for the environment as opposed to Better for the Environment as the only thing that is actually worth calling better for the environment would just be not made in the first place (which would actually mean neutral). Nothing that is marketed as ecofriendly is actually ecofriendly. </p>

      • Username

        05 October, 2021 - 4:14 pm

        <p>Luckily, few will be made.</p>

  • dremy1011

    Premium Member
    05 October, 2021 - 3:01 pm

    <p>I’m all for recycling, but I also really like the look of this mouse.</p>

    • crunchyfrog

      06 October, 2021 - 9:11 am

      <p>Reminds me of how recycled paper looked in the 90’s.</p>

  • rmac

    05 October, 2021 - 3:13 pm

    <p>does it float?!</p>

  • rob_segal

    Premium Member
    05 October, 2021 - 3:53 pm

    <p>At least it didn’t arrive in a 20% recycled box.</p>

  • bschnatt

    05 October, 2021 - 4:58 pm

    <p>You would think they would have given it a better name, like "The New Awareness Mouse" or something like that. Oh, right, they’re not good with names…</p>

  • chrishilton1

    Premium Member
    06 October, 2021 - 1:07 am

    <p>Ocean and plastic are probably 2 words you don’t want in a product name in 2021. </p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      06 October, 2021 - 3:06 am

      <p>Combined with recycled, I think it is exactly the words you want in a product name in 2021.</p><p><br></p><p>The oceans are full of plastic and there are several initiatives, including handbags, fashion wear and other things that all tout their use of recovered, ocean plastics. I think even one of the sport shoe makers has an ocean plastic training shoe(just Googled, there are several start-ups doing this, but Adidas also has a Ocean Plastic training show).</p>

  • crunchyfrog

    06 October, 2021 - 9:12 am

    <p>Next year perhaps we’ll see the, "Landfill Mouse".</p>

  • timwakeling

    06 October, 2021 - 10:57 am

    <p>As you rightly point out, this is not even close to being as "eco-friendly" as it could be. Wake me up when say 80% of ALL plastic used in ALL Microsoft products is recycled from the ocean, and then I think I’d be prepared to give them a pat on the back. :)</p>

  • mefree

    06 October, 2021 - 11:54 am

    <p>It looks like a bar of soap. What a piece of garbage, literally. Another worthless virtue signal.</p>

  • christianwilson

    Premium Member
    06 October, 2021 - 12:51 pm

    <p>I have no need to buy a mouse right now, but if I did, I would buy this one. Yeah, the ocean plastic recycling is cool, but I genuinely like the look of this. </p>

  • spullum

    Premium Member
    07 October, 2021 - 9:01 pm

    <p>I bought one. I really like it, more than I expected to. It has some heft but is large enough to be comfortable for me. It worked on Windows and my Mac with no issue. It only says Windows on the box but didn’t need any software.</p>

  • eleanor

    22 February, 2023 - 1:11 am

    doing a marketing analysis project of this in school, how much was it when you got it?

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