The watch you wear says a lot about who you are. People can tell a lot about your personality based on the style you choose to wear around your wrist. You may be judged as practical, fashionable or a complete show-off depending on your chosen timepiece.

It’s also rare these days for someone to sport a watch for the reason of serious timekeeping. Most of us have smartphones that fulfil this function. Nowadays, watches are worn purely for show; to help define one’s personal sense of style, project an image or indicate a person’s level of affluence. It’s a statement. 

But the world has a shopping problem. Our need to own new stuff is getting out of hand and now it’s taking a toll on our planet. In the rush to keep up with consumer demand for new products, fashion businesses are using up lots of natural resources and generating lots of waste, which either ends up polluting our environment, or dumped in landfills, or both. 

So what’s the best way for brands to meet their customers love of new fashion AND cut environmental impact? They need to embrace sustainability.

Cue, sustainable watch brand Solios.

“That is our vision of a better world – a place that glorifies and congratulates people who do good things and are constantly striving to improve themselves, a place that recognizes that we don’t need to be perfect to take the first steps towards a more responsible lifestyle.” – Solios

It took two years for Canada-based founders Alexander Desabrais and Samuel Leroux to develop the product, but the time and effort was worth it; the end result is a watch that combines sophisticated style, sustainability and solar movement.

Here’s why this conscious brand is one to watch, and why you need a Solios watch on your Christmas wish list:

Solar-Powered

Solios is the first watch brand to integrate a solar movement with minimalist design and sustainable materials.

This timepiece only needs one battery over the course of its life, which is recharged by the sun and thus, should last forever. If all quartz watches were solar, it would save 300 million batteries from being produced, sold and thrown away year on year!

And while other solar watches hide the solar cell by using chrono, double-layers dial or even intense designs, Solios managed to create a dial with the perfect transparency/color ratio to let the light rays go through it without showing it.

Minimalist and Sustainable Design

“We’re extremely proud of how we are changing the production process with our suppliers. We often have requests that they never heard of, because the watch industry is very mature, and has profitably optimized processes. But for the first time, they are asked something completely different, that creates a lower environmental footprint.”

From the very beginning, the brand’s main design aim was to create a stylish, sustainable watch that wouldn’t need to be replaced. This meant that their watch design needed to be timeless, made from high-quality materials and be built to last. 

The final product delivers on all requirements.

The Solios watch incorporates elegant, unisex, minimalist design and a beautiful yet simple dial which means that it will never go out of style. 

Each timepiece is ethically produced and made with durable, sustainable materials. It features sapphire coated glass, durable, cruelty-free ‘eco-leather’ which is free from nasties such as PU, PVC and is recyclable, premium 316L stainless steel and ionic coloration, which, although 10x more expensive than standard metal coloration methods, doesn’t create tons of toxic wastewater that pollutes rivers; it also produces no extra chemical waste.

The casings are also available in the classic colours of silver, rose gold or mat black and can be paired with a white or black dial. 

And for the fashionable types who like to match their accessories to their mood, these watches can be easily updated simply by interchanging the eco-friendly straps; metal or eco-leather, take your pick.

Regardless of style choice, Solios watch wearers ooze an air of panache no matter where they go, and what outfit they match it with – be it jeans, sandals and a classic white shirt, or an ensemble fit for a red carpet.

Giving Back

“We want to enable those wearing Solios to be proud of the positive actions that have been taken and to remember that improving one’s lifestyle is an ongoing process.” – Alexander Desabrais and Samuel Leroux, founders of Solios.

For founders Alexander and Samuel, the main goal isn’t to maximize shareholder equity (they’ve had plenty of individuals offer to invest in their company and politely decline each time), it was about creating a business and product that they believed would make a difference, and would inspire others to take positive steps that would make a difference in the world too.

Given the founders’ strong sense of environmental and social responsibility, Solios supports a couple of charitable organizations.

They are a proud partner of the Make-A-Wish foundation, which is the biggest wish granting organization in the world, helping to make dreams come true for children who are battling critical illness. To fundraise for the recent Make-A-Wish 48-hour bike event in Quebec, Solios created a limited-edition watch, the profits of which would be donated to the foundation to help grant wishes. In fact, the business was able to raise more than CAD $11,000 for Make-A-Wish!

Solios has also partnered with the David Suzuki Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the natural environment and fight climate change. Since launching last year, Solios has been contributing to the foundation through donations, events and limited editions.

Sustainable Packaging

When it comes to Solios watches it seems no detail has been overlooked. The brand’s packaging also reflects what the watch is all about: eco design.

The packaging is made from recycled pulp board and plantable seed paper; just pop in the dirt, water and grow your own plant! Or if you don’t have a green thumb, just pop the packaging in a recycling bin.

Wearing a watch means making a statement, and while the statement is usually one of style or success, why end it there? Why not wear a watch that makes a positive fashion statement, both style-wise and environment-wise?

Solios watches enables you to take pride in the positive steps you’ve taken in your eco lifestyle journey, inspires you to keep going and serves as a catalyst for change in the climate crisis we all face. There’s no time to waste; the time is now to embrace a more responsible lifestyle.

To make a purchase or browse the Solios collection, visit solioswatches.com.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Solios. All images supplied. Any opinions expressed are held by that of the author. Facts and other specific product information is checked with the company. For more information about our policies, click here.