The watch industry's traditional reliance on leather straps, precious metals from opaque supply chains, and manufacturing processes with significant environmental impact is being challenged by a growing segment of buyers who want their purchases to reflect their values. Vegan and ethical watchmaking in 2026 isn't a niche — it's a movement that's pushing established brands to offer alternatives and enabling new brands to build their identity around sustainability.
This guide covers the best watches for ethically-conscious buyers: leather-free strap options, brands with transparent sustainability practices, and watches made from recycled or responsibly-sourced materials.
Leather-Free Strap Options
The easiest step toward a vegan watch: choose a non-leather strap. Every major watch brand now offers alternatives, and aftermarket options are abundant.
Steel Bracelet
The most common leather-free option — and one that predates the vegan movement by decades. Stainless steel bracelets are durable, recyclable, and completely animal-free. Any watch available on a steel bracelet is inherently vegan on the strap side. The Tissot PRX, Tudor Black Bay, and Omega Seamaster are all available on steel bracelets as standard configurations.
Rubber / Silicone
Natural rubber and synthetic silicone straps are vegan, water-resistant, and increasingly refined in design. Brands like Omega (their rubber strap on the Seamaster), Tudor (the Pelagos rubber option), and Tissot (the PRX rubber strap) offer factory rubber options. Aftermarket rubber straps from Barton, Uncle Seiko, and Crafter Blue provide options for virtually any watch.
Recycled Ocean Plastic
Several brands now offer straps made from recycled ocean plastic — most notably the NATO-style straps made from reclaimed fishing nets. These straps are lightweight, durable, and carry a genuine environmental benefit. Brands like ZULUDIVER and Erika's Originals offer recycled-material straps that fit standard lug widths.
Cork and Plant-Based Leather
Plant-based leather alternatives — made from cork, pineapple fiber (Piñatex), apple waste, or cactus — are emerging as premium vegan strap materials. These are less common than rubber or fabric but growing rapidly in availability. Sustainable watch brands like Nordgreen and Votch offer plant-based leather straps as standard options.
Ethical Watch Brands
Oris has positioned sustainability at the core of their brand identity. Their "Change for the Better" initiative includes: ocean conservation partnerships (Clean Ocean limited editions made with recycled ocean plastic), certified carbon-neutral production, and transparency about their supply chain. The Oris Aquis on a steel bracelet or rubber strap is a genuinely excellent dive watch that comes from a brand walking the sustainability talk more convincingly than most Swiss manufacturers.
Best for: Buyers who want Swiss manufacture quality from a sustainability-committed brand.
Chopard committed to using 100% ethical gold (Fairmined or recycled) across all their production in 2018 — a landmark move in the luxury watch industry. Their "The Journey to Sustainable Luxury" initiative covers: responsibly-sourced precious metals, traceable gemstones, and reduced environmental impact across production. Chopard's Alpine Eagle collection uses "Lucent Steel A223" — a recycled steel alloy with specific properties for watchmaking. For luxury buyers, Chopard's ethical commitments are among the strongest in the industry.
Best for: Luxury buyers who want verified ethical sourcing in precious metals.
Nordgreen is a Danish watch brand that plants a tree or donates to charitable causes with every watch purchased. Their designs are clean, minimalist, and Scandinavian. The watches use Japanese Miyota movements and are available on vegan leather, mesh steel, or fabric straps. For buyers under $500 who want an aesthetically pleasing watch from a brand with built-in charitable giving, Nordgreen is the leading option.
Best for: Budget-conscious ethical buyers who want Danish minimalist design.
Seiko's solar-powered watches (and their Kinetic line, which converts motion to electrical energy) eliminate battery waste — a genuine environmental benefit over quartz watches that require battery replacements every 2-5 years. A Seiko solar watch charged by light can run for months in darkness and never needs a battery change. On a steel bracelet or aftermarket vegan strap, a Seiko Solar is a practical, affordable, and environmentally-conscious choice.
Best for: Practical buyers who want battery-free watchmaking.
Making Any Watch Vegan
You don't need to buy a "vegan watch brand" to wear a vegan watch. Any watch sold on a leather strap can be converted to vegan by swapping the strap. A $15-$40 aftermarket rubber, NATO, or perlon strap from Amazon or a strap retailer transforms any watch into a leather-free option in 60 seconds. The most popular watch in the world — the Rolex Submariner — is entirely vegan on its steel bracelet. So is the Omega Speedmaster on steel. So is the Tissot PRX. You don't need a niche brand to wear an ethical watch.
The Ethical Watch Truth
The most sustainable watch is the one you already own. A watch that lasts 30+ years — regardless of brand — is inherently more sustainable than buying a new "eco-friendly" watch every few years. If sustainability is your priority: buy quality, buy once, maintain it properly, and wear it for decades. A well-maintained Seiko 5 from 2010 has a smaller environmental footprint than a brand-new watch from any brand, regardless of their sustainability marketing.