How can you keep track of time—without stealing it from the planet and future generations? That is the matter at hand (err…wrist), which is why we’re talking about sustainable watches.
From using low-impact materials to designing extra long-lasting batteries, there are many things watchmakers can do to get their environmental practices on (c)lock.
So to that end, we’ve curated a list of our favorite timepieces made by brands that tick those boxes, as well as ensure ethical labor practices and low-waste packaging.
Soon we’ll be launching our new comprehensive Brand Rating System. This system will assess brands across a range of sustainability-related criteria, like chemical use and climate impact, to ensure they aren’t stealing time from our precious planet. You can learn more about it here.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
Make Time For These Sustainable Watch Brands
TRIWA takes a stand against conflict metals by recycling illegal firearms and turning them into their innovative solar-powered watches.
Original Grain also uses unique reclaimed materials (like old stadium seats) to ensure their watches make the absolute most of materials that already exist.
If you prefer a pop of color on your wrist, Swiss company Mondaine provides the bling by turning recycled PET bottles into classic analog timepieces.
Index: Eco-Friendly Watches
- Original Grain Jump to brand
- Mondaine Jump to brand
- Triwa Jump to brand
- TIVC Jump to brand
- Tense Jump to brand
- Nordgreen Jump to brand
- Solios Jump to brand
Original Grain
About Original Grain
Price Range: $189–$639
No two watches are the same from Original Grain. Their wooden watches are made from unique and sustainable sources, like harvested wood burls or an old seat from Yankee Stadium.
For example, the Reclaimed Military watches are their version of eco-friendly military watches—in a much more literal sense considering they’re made of reclaimed ammo wood crates.
Original Grain’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Much of the wood used for each watch case is reclaimed, and sourced from the likes of oak beer barrels, ammo crates, bourbon barrel crates, tequila barrel wood, guitar wood, and retired MLB Stadium seats.
Their virgin woods—Ebony, rosewood, African Sapele wood, mahogany, oak, zebrawood, ashwood—are all FSC certified. That’s paired with a 316L Stainless Steel frame, durable steel band, and a battery that lasts 2-3 years.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Original Grain high-quality wooden watches are assembled via handcrafting in China. We’ve reached out to learn more about what worker protections are in place at this factory but have yet to receive a reply.
Carbon comittments & green practices:
All watches come with a comprehensive one-year warranty.
Mondaine
About Mondaine
Price Range: $220–$795
Over half a century old, Mondaine might just be the oldest of all ethical watch brands. They made the world’s first solar-powered analog wristwatch and have been utilizing recycled materials for three decades.
They have several collections of men’s and women’s recycled watches but their most sustainable watch collection is the Essence Collection.
Mondaine’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
The Essence Collection features recycled PET bottles for straps, cork fabric lining, and a partial castor bean “wondertree” oil case. They come in a recycled PET case that doubles as a cell phone or eyeglass sleeve.
Most of Mondaine’s watches feature steel, the majority of which is recycled. Some watch bands are made of leather, sourced as a byproduct of the meat industry and tanned with RoHS-compliant chrome-free methods. They use no diamonds and only a few grams of gold per year.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All watches are handcrafted in their own factory in Biberist, Switzerland. By helping create jobs for the mentally impaired, they’ve been honored with the Social Star of Solothurn.
As for suppliers, they regularly monitor compliance to their ILO-approved Code of Conduct.
Carbon comittments & green practices:
Not only do the solar watches run on solar powered quartz movements, but are themselves made by solar powered machinery, powering 80% of their factory. They’ve achieved carbon neutrality by supporting tropic reforestation projects of the Fairventures Organization to offset the entirety of their carbon footprint.
Mondaine offers repairs and a free metal watch recycling program (of any brand), the first brand in Switzerland to do so.
This member of the ecology-minded company leadership program öbu also has an energy efficient HQ, in-house recycling, uses sea freight shipping and FSC certified packaging, and more that can be found in their sustainability report.
Triwa
About TRIWA
Price Range: $149–$299
TRIWA, short for Transforming the Industry of Watches, likes to think of themselves as “norm challengers and innovators in an industry that needs transforming.”
Combining Scandinavian simplicity with silhouettes, they cater to the passive and active watch enthusiast alike with sports watches (with 5 to 10 ATM resistance) and sleeker ethical modern watches. Shop four different collections of both quartz and solar powered watches: Time for Oceans, Time for Solar, Time for Peace, and Time to Talk.
We were fortunate enough to try the Black Solar Recycled watch, which features a large face that strikes the prefect balance between being easy to read, while still looking elegant and minimalist. It features glow-in-the-dark hands and a VS22B Solar movement that runs for several months without charging (which it does on both artificial and natural light!).
We also love that the recycled plastic canvas strap is both comfortable enough to wear all day, while still being highly durable.
TRIWA’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
For their Humanium recycled watches, TRIWA’s uses Humanium metal, made from recycled illegal firearms sourced from local authorities in El Salvador and IM Sweden. The Time for Oceans line creates both straps and cases from recycled ocean plastic.
While they use real leather for some of their straps, they source it from Swedish organic tannery Tärnsjӧ, known for its use of chrome-free vegetable tanning processes.
Supply chain & labor practices:
TRIWA’s recycled watches are designed and made in Sweden, using Miyota watch movements made in Japan. Factories are visited twice a year to ensure TRIWA’s ethical standards are upheld.
Carbon comittments & green practices:
Aside from reducing waste through recycled materials, TRIWA also uses the smallest packaging sizes they can. The first company to receive The 2030 Certification by Doconomy, each sustainable watch has a “cradle-to-gate” calculated carbon footprint score.
Community & charitable giving:
15% of every watch in the Time for Peace collection currently supports IM Sweden’s work in Ukraine. 15% of every Ocean Plastic – Sea Shepherd recycled ocean plastic watch goes to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
TIVC
About TIVC
Price Range: $127–$147
TIVC stands for: Time IV Change. They say it best: “Time is all we have – why not invest in the future?”
They fulfill this mission by handcrafting sustainable recycled watches that feature extra large, minimalist faces, in either gold, rose gold, or silver colors. For a minimalist watch to go with your minimalist wardrobe, you can’t go wrong with the clean look of the Silver & White Piñatex watch.
At just over $100, are also some of the most affordable watches on this list.
TIVC’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
TIVC offers a range of recycled watches using upcycled synthetic eco suede and Piñatex. The watch faces are made with stainless steel—most of which include up to 60% recycled metals.
All materials are cruelty-free and Peta-approved vegan, and free from Substances of Very High Concern meaning zero carcinogens, mutagens, or reproductive toxins.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Watches are manufactured in a Hong Kong factory that is SA8000 certified and audited by the TIVC change every 12-18 months. Their suppliers must adhere to their Supplier Code of Conduct and the majority of those have third-party audits, too.
Carbon comittments & green practices:
Using 95% sustainable materials for packaging means most is compostable, recycled, or recyclable. The other 5% is reusable. TIVC offsets all shipping to customers.
Tense
About Tense
Price Range: $160–$390
Tense’s makes us feel anything but with their stunning collection of sustainable wood watches, which are fully customizable with laser engraving. The Cambridge Chrono represents Tense’s unique range of mechanical eco-friendly watches. It features three sub-dials showing hours, seconds, and minutes.
For those who prefer digital watches, you can forget the movement and just buy Apple Watch compatible wooden straps.
Tense’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Tense’s face frames are made from 100% recycled or reclaimed wood.
The most sustainable watch bands are also made out of this, but some feature Italian leather bands or vegan leather bands. They don’t specify what the vegan leather is made out of and have yet to respond to our inquiries on this. Because vegan leather can sometimes be made of less-than-sustainable types of plastic (like PVC) we recommend avoiding.
All feature a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal face and corrosion-resistant surgical grade 316 stainless steel hardware.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Handmade in Canada, each sustainable watch comes from Tense’s own Vancouver workshop. The premium movements are sourced from Switzerland (Rondo 6004D) and Japan (Miyota).
Carbon comittments & green practices:
Aside from being a certified carbon responsible business, each environmentally friendly watch comes with a two-year warranty and waterproof ratings up to 5 ATM.
Nordgreen
About Nordgreen
Price Range: $169–$372
Nordgreen is a Danish eco-friendly watch brand founded by two friends and watch-enthusiasts. Their sustainable luxury watches are for those looking for ultra-classic, timeless (well, you get the idea) styles, like linked metal or leather bands.
We got the opportunity to test out three of their watches and if you asked us which is our favorite, we simply couldn’t pick.
The Philosopher is perfect for those who durability and versatility, thanks to its brushed metal body that doesn’t show wear and interchangeable strap design. We went with the stainless steel mesh for its weatherproofing and are so pleased with how light and non-abrasive it feels.
For something a little more flashy and feminine, we’d suggest the Unika with a polished metal chain strap, while the Native with a white dial and brown leather strap combo is ideal for those looking for an absolutely timeless timepiece.
Nordgreen’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
All Nordgreen watches are made with conflict-free, non-toxic materials, meaning no phthalate plasticizers or heavy metal stabilizers.
Choose between interchangeable straps of either stainless steel mesh, stainless steel links, recycled microfiber vegan leather, rubber, and LWG-certified Italian leather (only navy, white, and grey leather straps are LWG-certified).
Supply chain & labor practices:
This Certified B Corp’s ethically made watches are manufactured in a Danish owned Chinese factory under European workforce standards.
Carbon comittments & green practices:
Nordgreen recaptures and reuses at least 99% of manufacturing solvents, ship in FSC-certified cardboard, and offset their plastic use through CleanHub. In addition to providing carbon neutral shipping, they have a carbon-neutral office in Copenhagen and over 90% of their team uses the trusty bicycle to commute to work.
They promote product circularity by allowing you to buy refurbished watches.
Community & charitable giving:
Through the brand’s Giving Back Program, each watch sold means a generous contribution to one of three different NGOs located in the Central African Republic, India, and Latin America. Customers may choose between providing clean water to those without, funding two months of education to underprivileged children, or preserving 200 square feet of rainforest.
They also create regular limited edition product collaborations to support other NGOs, like the Copenhagen Cartel collection that sees proceeds to Healthy Seas.
Solios
About Solios
Price Range: $265–$355
Inspired by the forward-thinking city they’re based in—Montreal—Canada’s best eco-friendly watch brand Solios is driven by inclusivity, innovation, and sustainability.
Enter: eco-friendly solar watches with quartz mechanics that can run for six months on just a couple hours of sunlight or artificial UV light—total!
More than 300 million disposable watch batteries are produced every.single.year. If these batteries only last one or two years, that’s 300 million batteries hitting the landfill per annum. Compare that to a Solios battery which is rated to last 50 years. We thought portable solar panels were something but these are a no-brainer.
You’d never guess such a powerful solar movement dwells within a dainty recycled stainless steel design like the Solar Mini.
Solios’ Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
All of Solios’ solar powered watches feature either a metal mesh or PVC and PU-free Eco Leather (silicone) band.
They’re combined with a 100% recycled plastic microfiber inlay, 100% recyclable stainless steel body, and sapphire-coated glass face.
Their case is made of 316L stainless steel because it’s hypoallergenic, recycled and recyclable, and more durable and anti-corrosive than 314 stainless steel or other metals.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Solios was the first ethical watch brand to become a Certified B Corp. They personally audit all factories and enforce “responsible procurement” via their Supplier Code of Conduct for suppliers located in Canada, USA, Japan, Switzerland and Hong Kong.
Carbon comittments & green practices:
Solios allows you to recycle any watch in exchange for $50 of store credit. The ionic plating process they use has been designed to be as sustainable as possible, limiting contamination of soil and water.
They’ve done away with styrofoam and plastic in the watch production and transportation process. Product packaging consists of 100% recycled and recyclable FSC-certified cardboard, natural ink, and organic glue.
They recycle their organic waste, carbon offset business trips, use hydroelectricity to power their office, and have also partnered with tentree in their Climate+ program.
