To give you some indication of how long it’s been since I regularly wore a watch, when my last watch died, I had a pager that I could use to tell the time instead. A pager. Just let that sink in for a moment. Since upgrading to a mobile phone, I’ve used them as a way of keeping track of the time. But last year something changed: I got a smartphone.
Instead of checking my phone for a quick glance at the time, I’d get distracted and read my emails, then Instagram and Twitter… maybe have a little peek at Facebook or WhatsApp, and before I knew it I’d spent 20 minutes lost in the screen.
Things had to change.
It was time to get a watch.
But where could I find a watch that looked good and met my ethical standards? Just at the right moment, I discovered Nordgreen.
Nordgreen is a Danish company and the watches are designed by award-winning designer Jakob Wagner. For every watch purchased, the company will contribute to one of three NGO charity partners through their ‘Giving Back Program’. It was a difficult choice between Water For Good offering two months of clean water for one person in the Central African Republic, Pratham UK offering one month of education to a child in India and preserving 200sqft of Latin american rainforest with Cool Earth.
If you give a Nordgreen watch as a gift, it might be worth checking in with the recipient to see which NGO they chose to support – each watch has a unique code that has to be registered on a website for Nordgreen to activate their donation. After racking my brains for a while, I chose to support Cool Earth and it’s so lovely to know that my watch is helping preserve a patch of rainforest on the other side of the world.
I chose the Philosopher model in rose gold, and got two straps to go with it – a rose gold mesh strap for dressing up, and a green nylon strap for everyday use. The interchangeable strap system makes it easy to switch between the two options. If I decide to update my look, I can always order a new leather, vegan leather or rubber strap in a range of colours.
The watches are manufactured in China, and the company states “Our products are manufactured in a Danish-owned watch factory in China. The facility has excellent working conditions based on Danish labor practices.” While this is better than nothing, I’d like to know more about the factory conditions and the workers who actually made my watch. Another thing that Nordrgreen could improve is through more transparency in the supply chain for materials. It’s great to know that the packaging is made from recycled materials, but I would love to know more about the sourcing of materials for the watch and straps.
It’s so nice to be able to glance at the time while I’m rushing to do the school pick-up, or riding my electric bike to work. Watches are an amazing invention, and it’s good to remember that after all these years!
If you’re thinking of getting a Nordgreen watch, please click through using this link.
PS. Look how happy I am with my new watch 🙂 Thanks, Nordgreen!
Nice! Have you heard of the vegan watch Volevatch too? She’s in Brighton
I love your blog. It inspires me. Now I want a new (electric) bike and a watch. Hmmm….. xx