Swatch Group Announces Ban on Leather Products

Swatch Group, one of the largest watch makers in the world (if not the largest) has pulled the plug on leather products produced from skins of animals caught in the wild. Following the revelations of Swiss Television on the hunting and skinning methods used in Indonesia, Swatch Group’s President Nicolas Hayek has banned their use in any product coming from manufactures of the group.

The findings of Swiss Television included the way Water Monitors (Varanus salvator) were caught and transported and how serpents were filled with water and skinned while still alive. Swatch Group now went one step further and banned not only these products from use, but any product coming from all animals caught in the wild. The use of reptile skin will be restricted to that of the Mississippi Alligators’; alligators have been farmed in Florida commercially for years.

But at the same time, the use of alligator will be subjected to a review in policy as well. The suppliers in Florida will be subjected to an in-depth analysis into their way of raising, holding, and killing of the animals. Only farms which comply with animal rights standards will be allowed to supply to Swatch which will also install regular reviews.

The procurement department responsible for trade with the Far East will review all sources of exotic animal products. The same department is already running regular reviews on other products being sourced in the Far East to make sure that there is no child labour involved in the production process; they also check that suppliers offer acceptable social security to their workers and comply with basic environmental tenets.

The products were used in only a small fraction of products put on the market of Swatch Group reckoned to account for less than two percent of their turn-over. Nicolas Hayek is of the opinion that there is absolutely no justification for the use or sale of such products for fashion and prestige reasons alone. He is of the opinion that Swatch Group should and will set a precedent for watch producers the world over.

The Association of Watch Makers in Switzerland was caught by surprise by the move and could only issue a statement that they will review the use of these products; the fashion industry on the other hand greeted Hayek’s statements with total silence and is obviously not prepared to do anything about it.

Swatch Group is one of the largest watch makers in the world. Under its umbrella, luxury watches like Breguet, Blancpain, Glashütte, Jaquet Droz, Tiffany, and Omega are exclusively manufactured. Its products include High Street names like Longines, Rado, Union, Tissot, Calvin Klein, Balmain, Certina, Hamilton, and Mido. Its best known brand though is Swatch with its range of low price designer watches for every occasion. They also run a children’s line under the name of flik flak with Swiss quality at low prices.

If you want to be sure that your watch is sourced ethically, you might want to go to one of Swatch Group’s flag ship stores under the name of Tourbillon which may be found on three continents.

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