The EU was putting pressure on cell companies to stop providing those items.
And removing those items does a) help the environment and b) aid the bottom line. Kinda like reusing towels during a multi-day stay in a hotel. They do not have to be mutually exclusive.
Your towel analogy is flawed. This would be like the hotel saying “we aren’t giving you any towels at all but you can pay an extra 30 bucks to have some brought over to your room by a Hummer running on whale oil.”
This is green washing, plain and simple. If they really wanted to save the environment, they’d allow you to opt-in to the headphones and/or charger and they could give you them in minimal, hassle-free packaging (a very tiny recyclable box) for no extra charge. Instead, they’re removing them and charging the same price, while trying to up sell you less environmentally-friendly alternatives.