Natwest Accelerator

Votch is a vegan and sustainable watch brand founded just over fi ve years ago by Laura. Before setting up the company, Laura was working as a TV Producer in advertising. She’d frequently go on work trips as part of her job, and it was during one of these trips that she realised she had forgotten her prescribed steroid cream, which she had been taking for years for treatment for her eczema. Laura noticed her skin rapidly deteriorating and went to her GP. A few tests later and she was diagnosed with Topical Steroid Withdrawal. Her skin had become addicted to the Steroid cream and without it her skin with going into withdrawal, causing peeling, skin rashes and redness. The only way to recover was to cease using the cream, cold turkey.

Laura faced years of battling this condition, from edema, to leaked plasma and constant skin shedding. She moved back to her family home and ended up

spending 20 plus hours in the bathtub a day for relief. During this time, Laura wanted to educate herself and take her mind off the pain, she did this by watching countless documentaries, mostly on animal welfare, climate change and sustainability. Although she was already an ethically and environmentally conscious person, her newfound knowledge and appreciation for her body pushed her to overhaul her lifestyle and habits, part of which included her becoming a vegan. Laura says, “having felt the pain of losing my own skin, I vowed to never use the skin of another being again”.

After over a year, Laura got better and returned to work. When her watch strap broke, Laura was surprised to find no vegan alternatives and looked into producing her own. Hence Votch was born as an ethical alternative to leather watches. She noted that as a society we have collectively shunned fur, but wondered why the same wasn’t being done for leather? Laura donates a percentage of Votch’s profits to charities, and for every watch sold on her website she plants a mangrove tree in Madagascar. She is also the fi rst company in the world to offer watch recycling in partnership with Recycling for Good Causes, which allows you to recycle your old watch in return for a Votch discount voucher.

Votch now sells globally and has many different ranges that work with various sustainable materials. Her most popular ranges include watch straps made out of apple skin material – a bi-product from the apple juice industry – and Pinatex a – bi-product from the pineapple harvest – both use no extra land, pesticide, fertiliser or water in their production, as well as generating an extra income for the farmers. She also offers enviro-leather, which includes recycled and renewable content, low VOC emissions and is more renewable and durable than animal-based leather. Laura is constantly seeking out new innovations, utilising solar power and recycled materials to constantly push the boundaries of how sustainable her brand can be.