Today I saw a Facebook thread about the legendary durability of old mobile phones.
What wasn't mentioned, is that modern phones are almost as good(For reasonable everyday battering) provided you get a decent case.
You want a raised bezel that prevents the screen from touching the ground, full rubber or plastic everywhere with no exposed area, and plastic over the screen.
There's really not much besides the glass and the buttons to break on a new phone. The glass just happens to be... Still glass, even though it's Gorilla Glass now.
But yet, I still see a lot of people using bare phones. In the old times, durability was the default. Now, the aesthetic of "elegance" is everywhere, things are very plain, undecorated, and make of more delicate "luxury" materials.
High end doesn't always mean durable. I suspect sometimes the expensive things are designed under the assumption that they will be very carefully looked after.
So we have to make the choice to make our stuff last. Buying high quality stuff isn't enough. It never really was, even ancient heirloom hand tools will rust if unnatended, and maybe even rust faster than a lot of modern stuff.
Always buy the proper case! Just about everything that supports a case, needs one. It's usually a fantastic investment because it instantly makes something delicate into something rugged. It pays for itself, because you don't need to replace it.
The same applies to other protective add-ons like surge protectors, rechargable dessicant dehumidifiers, toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc.
If you're doing ZeroWaste, I think plastic storage and cases should be mostly exempt from concerns about buying less stuff. They're very effective tools to prevent buying even more stuff in the future.