Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Straps, straps, straps, and bracelets!
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Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by Kip »

Are You Willing To Say Goodbye To Leather Straps? Is Veganism The Future?

An interesting article about the future of watch straps on Fratello.

It would seem to be something that CW would consider given the fact they discontinued alligator straps (2015) and are now heavily vested in the #tide straps
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by Bungle-ator »

It'll be a sad day if that happens. Given it's a by product from animals that we're already farming to eat there's no shortage of leather so it wouldn't make a huge deal of sense either now. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes illegal to eat proper meat at some time in the future though so it may be inevitable.

I remember when buying my first kilt they told me in the shop that it had been made (or was being made) illegal to make sporrans with baby seal skin and to counteract it the company had bought up tens of thousands of sporrans. Ten years on they'll still be selling them today.
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by village »

I would love to comment in depth here but I suspect it wouldn’t go down well with anyone who is actually vegan. I think I will restrict myself to saying that the loss of leather straps would be a shame especially if it was due to ridiculous political correctness.
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

I used to be fairly exclusively into leather straps at one time and especially croc, 'gator, lizard and Cordovan.

My collection is generally less formal and dressy now, and I tend to like bracelets and hybrids.

I'd wear an alternative as long as it didn't look/feel cheap and plasticky on a watch such as my Tank.
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by tikkathree »

Woke nonsense and another first world issue where sanctimony and virtue signalling is supposed to ride roughshod over the economics of skin strap manufacture in countries where foreign exchange can provide a very welcome source of income. :thumbdown: :thumbdown: .

"Only then one can make a well-informed decision."

My decision is that I will not from this point forward buy a watch from any brand which doesn't offer leather straps: that's a hollow threat I know but I don't wear shoes made of plastic or bamboo.

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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by FloridaPhil »

Too much estrogen in the water supply.
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by TigerChris »

Is it April 1st already?! What an absolute load of b******s! Worlds gone mad!
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by watchaholic »

Well said guys, not sure I would be able to add much to this thread without my head exploding. :silent:
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by Bahnstormer_vRS »

TigerChris wrote:Is it April 1st already?! What an absolute load of b******s! Worlds gone mad!
A suitably erudite response from you Chris, with which I am drawn to completely agree.

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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by strapline »

Not even gonna read the article, I'm well aware of the arguments by now. As an aside, perhaps steel bracelets will be considered an unnecessary luxury because of the CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions generated by producing steel. Then the watch case itself could be next - who knows where things are heading! Personally I have no problems wearing a well made rubber strap if it means I'm less likely to be 'cancelled', God forbid.

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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by scooter »

No.

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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by A1soknownas »

Yes :thumbup:.

If an alternative can be provided which has equal or better qualities, whilst also potentially contributing to supporting a more sustainable world, why not?

Whilst it may be classed as a by-product, it is clear that a preference for meat alternatives is growing with the sheer availability of choice in supermarkets and so the by-product argument may lessen over time. I am not a vegetarian or vegan but I am happy to continue to try and explore alternatives and eat less meat which has a significant impact upon emissions and is unsustainable in an ever populated planet.

Change will only be gradual though and so it should be, many rely upon animals for their livelihood and so transformation needs to be carefully supported across the globe.

Often sustainable initiatives in some way rely upon recycling for the production of the alternative. This is a problem as it means there needs to be a 'bad' output before it can be reversed by the 'good' product. I recently bought trainers from Yatay based in Italy which are are made from cereal (non-food), wood, recycled tires and plastic. Plastic bottles will disappear eventually so there goes one of the components. I would certainly consider non-leather alternatives shoes now I know how good they can be.

I am no eco-warrior, quite the opposite but I am happy to try and embrace change if it does help the environment - I am sure we will see that debate play out over time and there will be strong arguments either way with agendas to misrepresent the the truth to a point where like other issues we do not know what to believe...
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by Amor Vincit Omnia »

As I see it, if a manufacturer ceases to offer leather straps as an option, the would-be buyer has four paths to choose from.
  • Buy the watch on bracelet, and source a suitable aftermarket strap.
  • Buy the watch on whatever strap is offered, and see how you go with it.
  • Buy the watch on whatever strap is offered, and replace it with an aftermarket strap of your choice.
  • Buy a watch from a different company.
It’s not something I would be losing sleep over. And if it was a watch I really liked, I certainly would not be refusing to buy it on outraged principle.
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by Lavaine »

If it looks good, it's comfortable, not too hot, and wears well, I really don't care if it's made of leather, pleather, ocean plastic, unicorn poop, or anything else.
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Re: Are You Willing To Say Goodbye...

Post by 0uatiOW »

I like leather straps. Can a vegetable strap offer the same durability, pliability & sense of luxury? Maybe it can (I doubt it).

Cow leather is a by product of the beef meat industry. The way to reduce the number of cows slaughtered is to reduce the volume of beef eaten. Even if the demand for leather were the primary driver in the cattle industry, which it clearly is not, the watch strap segment is a tiny part of it, so a decision by one brand to take this route is largely irrelevant.

Offer a choice by all means, but to cut them out completely sends a message to the customer, and I would argue the message is incorrect.

The case for the continuing use of some exotic leathers is somewhat different, as the skins may be the primary product (and some farming practices are horribly cruel) but that’s a much wider topic.
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