OUR STORY

We’re Votch, a cruelty free watch and accessories company that's based in the UK. Votch was founded by me, Laura, and you may have seen me on Dragons' Den pitching my idea for Votch. Votch began when a few years back I was struck down with a condition called Topical Steroid Withdrawal, a condition that saw all my skin fall off (we’ll spare you from the pictures!). During the years that it took me to recover, I turned to documentaries and educated myself on various subjects regarding animal welfare, including facts about the leather industry that truly shocked me.


Seeing the suffering that animals endured simply for fashion, and having felt the pain of losing my own skin, I vowed never to wear the skin of another being again.

Watch our video below for the full story.


 When I recovered, and with a new-found vegan perspective on life, I knew I had to create something where I could make a change in this world. Finding accessories that are stylish but cruelty free isn’t always that easy, and when an old watch strap broke and finding a watch I liked that was simple and stylish, but with a faux leather strap was pretty impossible, the lightbulb moment happened and Votch was born!

''Laura, I actually think it's really classy and this branding and I thought “Oh my God this is so cool, so impressive, so timeless” and then "Votch Vegan watch" and I turn to the side and it says, "Kindness is Timeless”. Oh you have me. I think its so beautiful" - Steven Bartlett, Dragons' Den

OUR VALUES

Our values are simple, and that is to continually do the best we can do. We are always striving as a company to do better and to create a product that inflicts no harm to animals with the smallest footprint for the environment.

We are forever researching the most innovative fabrics possible for our watch straps, and this push for progress is matched by our desire to develop our designs and durability. We want to make cruelty free accessories more readily available to all, and to show that you don’t need to be cruel to be cool.

As we continually evolve, we are always searching of ways to reduce our impact on the planet. With every order purchased on our website, we plant a mangrove in Madagascar! Mangroves are fantastic carbon sinks, stabilise the soil and improve the quality of the water. Planting these wonderful trees also provides a natural habitat for wildlife and an income for local villagers.

The need for clear, credible climate action from all organisations is essential. This is our way of supporting climate solutions and limiting our impact on the planet. Read more about what C Free do here

vegan leather

All our watches comply with ROHS and the faux leather we use has the following environmental benefits:

✓ PVC-Free ✓ No plasticisers ✓ Phthalate-free ✓ Passes CAL 01350, low VOC emissions ✓ No added antimicrobial chemicals ✓ PFC-Free ✓ No flame retardants ✓ Bromine-free ✓ No heavy metals ✓ Includes recycled and renewable content ✓ And of course: Animal friendly

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS

We're always busy here at Votch, trialling and sampling the latest material innovations that are being rapidly developed. We're proud to be working with materials like Piñatex, a by-product from the pineapple harvest, and AppleSkin, a material made from residual apple juice fibres from Northern Italy.

To discover more about our sustainable switches, visit our materials page.

OUR MATERIALS

GIVING BACK

It’s also important to us that we give back too, especially to those who dedicate their lives to helping animals that have suffered and to charities that are helping to encourage a kinder way of living.

Every three months we partner with a different charity of the season which we donate a percentage of our profits to during this time. You can see and read more about who we are supporting in our Giving Back section.

We thank all of our customers for their continual support, because without you, we wouldn’t be able to help them.

vegan leather

OUR AWARDS

PETA

Best Mens Watches UK
Best Watches France

UNICORN GOODS

Best Vegan Watch Company
Best Vegan Product (Consumer Choice)

OUR PROCESS

It was a long journey and a process filled with continual research to find a factory that we were happy to work with to produce our watches. We work with a factory in Shenzhen, an area in China, not too far from Hong Kong.

Originally, we employed a team to help us source factories that would not only be able to make our watches (we care just as much about people as we do animals - it’s in our vegan nature) but who would also meet our high standards, or Votch simply would not have come to life.

We visited and vetted several and now work with a great factory that pays fairly, offers promotion opportunities and has great facilities. Our factory owner’s wife is a keen plant eater so we also get to sample some of the best vegan food when we visit!

vegan leather

The factory manager glumly said to me, ‘I bet you’re not going to put made in China on your watches’, well, I’m proud to say where they are made, because I’m proud of the team we work with – we certainly would not be here without them. As conscious consumers, transparency is key and it’s important to know where your products are made. We put the time and research in to making sure we could create our watches in the best way that is available to us, to bring you a cruelty free Votch.

Thank you for taking the time to find out more about how we operate, it really does matter to us.

Laura & Rolo