‘Save The Divers’: The Sustainable Trend Innovative Watch Brands Are Following

Good News Notes:

The watch industry is frequently criticised for being quite unsustainable. The reality is that the materials that go into watchmaking – precious metals, jewels, batteries – are often produced via extractive and environmentally damaging methods.

Of course, watchmaking is nowhere near as wasteful as some other industries, and watch brands have made leaps and bounds in recent years in terms of minimising both their environmental and ethical impact. But there are some watchmakers that have gone above and beyond in their mission to make their creations more sustainable – and as consumers become more environmentally conscious, it’s these brands that are sure to reap the rewards.

One particular problem the watch world has proven quite adept at facing has been the proliferation of ocean plastic. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, over 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. Animals frequently ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and deaths, and plastic pollution also threatens human health; food safety and quality; coastal tourism and recreation; and contributes to climate change.

But plastic can be recycled – and that’s where watchmakers come in. Ocean plastic is a problem, but it’s also a resource: some forward-thinking watch brands are turning ocean plastic into designer accessories, killing two birds with one stone. The fascination with watches, as a watch fan, is that watches can tell a story – and what better story to tell than one about saving the planet?

Let’s focus in on a few watch brands that are turning ocean plastic into stylish accessories.

Tom Ford might not be the first name you think of when it comes to watches but the American fashion designer has launched a rather impressive new range of Swiss made, stylish timepieces. The pièce de résistance in his collection, however, is the very good looking but also very forward-thinking 002 Ocean Plastic. As the name implies, it features a case and unique hand-braided strap made entirely of 100% recycled ocean plastic. According to the brand, every watch produced permanently removes the equivalent of 35 bottles’ worth of plastic waste from the ocean. Tom Ford has also established the ‘Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize’ in order to find a replacement for thin-film plastic, offering a $1 million purse pool.

Breitling has always been a particularly forward-thinking player in the Swiss watch industry. Their new Endurance Pro is emblematic of the brand’s current trajectory: the action-focused timepiece available with an Outerknown ECONYL yarn NATO strap, woven from regenerated nylon sourced entirely from ocean and landfill waste. Breitling has been very savvy about the collaborations they’ve been penning lately, and this one with Outerknown is particularly worthy….”

View the whole story here: https://www.dmarge.com/2021/02/sustainable-watch-trend-innovation-ocean-plastic-environment.html

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