DAN & MÈZ: Vegan Watches made of Pineapple Leaves

If there’s something I’ve learned this year it’s how precious time is, and who and what we’re willing to spend it on or share it with. A way of tracking time that has been part of our lives for centuries is a watch, a piece of art that combines tradition and technology. What started its journey as a pocket piece is now carried on our wrists, and throughout the years, the most commonly used for watch straps was real leather, and in recent years, with veganism on the rise, came up alternatives made out animal-free materials, and the industry is rapidly growing.

The True Cost of Leather

Everyone knows that there isn’t leather without a dead animal: this dead industry (literally) is responsible for the horrible abuse and the slaughter of billions of animals every year. It isn’t a secret that suffering is a major part of all animals in the fashion industry. Most of their lives they are abused and neglected, and their last days pass by in crowded trucks and narrow passages in which they’re rushed brutally to be hanged and slaughtered. They watch their companions go to their death and cannot run away, even when they try to. Unlike what people think, leather is a commercially valuable ‘good’ in its own merit. This means that animals must be raised and killed in large numbers to support the demand. In actual fact, leather accounts for approximately 10% of the animal’s total value (according to BLC Leather Technology Centre), making it the most valuable part of the animal. The purchase of animal leather increases demand, which is increasing the number of animals killed. To read more about the leather industry, click here (after you finish this article, duh!)

According to Lyst, searches for vegan leather increased by 54 percent in the last quarter.

The Rise of Vegan Leather Alternatives

The Grand View Research (GVR) identified animal-rights and welfare as one of the main reasons for the increase of popularity of vegan leather and estimated that the industry’s worth to be $85 billion by 2025. In recent years, people are becoming more aware of their choices and ask more questions about what they eat, wear and vote for with their money. What has been considered acceptable in previous decades is slowly losing demand and popularity: A poll of 2,000 British and American residents, conducted in September by Morning Consult shows that 37 percent of people in the UK and 23 percent in the US think that leather is either a “somewhat or very inappropriate material” to use in clothing. Over 20 percent of all respondents in both countries said they had changed their minds about the material in the last five years.

Growing consumer awareness about the conditions of the leather industry is one factor driving the growth of the vegan leather market, GVR says.

In the past few years, with the growth in demand for leather alternatives, increasingly innovative materials are being used to create them, including cork, apple, pineapple, and old coffee grains. But today I want to focus on one great brand using pineapple leaves to create amazing timepieces: ladies and gentleman, let me introduce you to DAN & MÈZ 

Vegan & Sustainable Watches- meet DAN & MÈZ

DAN & MÈZ is a vegan, ethical and sustainable brand based in Austria creating timepieces and wallets from Pinatex: a vegan leather alternative made out of recycled pineapple leaves. The brand started its journey with quite a funny story: Vegan Co-Founders of DAN & MÈZ, Clemens and Daniele, met at a local bar at their home town Graz, Austria. Clemens noticed Daniele because he was drinking pina colada, just like Clemens. They started talking and quickly after that got into a pretty interesting conversation finding out they also share a passion for veganism and fair fashion.

A couple of days later they talked more about the fashion, especially the leather industry and much potential for change it has. Starting as a joke Daniele suggested they should start their own premium watch label with eco-friendly vegan straps. Fast forward the joke became reality and they started their successful line.

About Piñatex: Leather Alternative Made of Pineapple

The pineapple industry globally produces 40,000 tons of waste pineapple leaves each year, which is usually burned or left to rot.

Instead of burning and wasting those leaves, Ananas Anam found a way to recycle them and use them to make an amazing leather alternative. In order to make Piñatex, pineapple leaves get harvested, dried and mixed with PLA, a thermoplastic polymer synthesized from a renewable source. The material is then coated with petroleum-based resin (plastic-based) which isn’t biodegradable but the team of Ananas Anam is working on creating a bio-based coating for their material.

Not only Pinatex is good for animals and better for the environment, but it also supports people: local farming communities in the Philippines now have an extra income source by processing the leaves. Ananas Anam ensures all workers are treated correctly and get paid fair wages. The durability and quality if treated correctly are great, the texture is soft and nice to the touch and from my experience with the material it seems to be quite durable.

DAN & MÈZ Watches

DAN & MÈZ kindly sent me their beautiful Classic gold watch from their first season collection: I chose the golden hardware watch with the black straps which is a win for me as a gold, timeless piece lover. The watch is fairly made in Germany, one of the countries with the highest standards and conditions for employees. Everyone gets paid a fair wage, has insurance and many rights to ensure overall great working conditions. DAN & MÈZ are super transparent about their manufacturing processes: their watches are manufactured by Malchert, a small manufacturing facility in Quedlinburg with tradition, passion and premium quality. The straps are made by Rios, a company with over 80 years of experience based in Augsburg. The boxes in which the watches are packaged are made from recycled cardboard and get shipped in climate-neutral paper packages.

From my personal experience with the watch (which I haven’t stopped wearing for almost two months now), I can totally say I love and enjoy it: the premium look and durable, classy & timeless design work with every single one of my outfits and make it look even smarter and more put together. The straps were very hard and stiff in the beginning but got softer the more I wore it. The watch would make a perfect gift for anyone, as it is unisex, and would for sure last a long time.

You can find more about DAN & MÈZ on their website and Instagram.

Want my watch? simply click here

Outfit details:

Watch by DAN & MÈZ *

Bag by OSIER *

Sweater by JAN N JUNE *

Skirt by JAN N JUNE *

Jacket by Poetique Paris *

Necklace by Loft & Daughter *

Photography Credit: Liat Bracha

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Until next time,

Noa

*This post is part of a collaboration with DAN & MÈZ. Please note, items marked with (*) were kindly gifted to me. There are some affiliate links in this post marked as (**). All the opinions shared are mine. To read about my work ethics, visit my ethics page.

Sources:

Ananas Anam Web

Vogue Business

Vogue Business