ethy for growing businesses
The Sustainable Watch Company, a pioneering brand in the jewellery industry, has made it their mission to craft timepieces that reduce their impact on the environment, people and animals. The company’s ethos revolves around making sustainability accessible to consumers through the creation of beautifully unique watches and straps upcycled from natural wood furniture. They’ve been designed with everyday wear in mind and with a commitment to helping more consumers make sustainable choices, providing products that are easy substitutes for their less-sustainable counterparts.
Affordable, accessible, holistic
The Sustainable Watch Company is now in its third year of trading and having just celebrated its one-year anniversary of becoming ethy verified, Richard Cawkill, the brand’s Founder reflects on their experiences to date:
“ethy came at the perfect time for our business. Having a sustainability pledge, we needed something to support and underpin our credentials. We spent a lot of time searching for certifications and accreditation programmes but found that most were simply inaccessible for small businesses. They either want a huge licence fee upfront, or the questions they asked were heavily geared towards large organisations with complex supply chains, which simply didn’t align with our stage of growth.”
“The low upfront fees and affordable monthly subscription made ethy by far the most attractive proposition, but it was also the accessibility and breadth of labels we could achieve. For instance, we had previously explored vegan certifications from other providers, but their rigid criteria, primarily designed for cosmetics and food, were impractical for us. When they began asking for the ingredients of our wood, we knew it wouldn’t work for us!”
“ethy’s not only holistic in the number of labels we could apply for across our entire sustainability pledge, but also in their sensible criteria for evaluation of different business types.”
Return on investment
“Another crucial factor to choosing ethy was the return on investment (ROI). Whenever I’m investing in something new, as a small business you always have to look for some kind of ROI to justify the decision. It’s a simple concept, but having our brand listed on the ethy site and app adds significant value. It’s something that drives a little more site traffic in addition to increasing our conversions by using the ecolabels on our website. That alone made it an easy decision to commit to.”
Tech-led
“Being tech-led is a big differentiator for ethy. While other providers are trying to evolve to use technology, ethy was born into it and caters to the evolving market. ethy’s assessment was incredibly thorough, but being tech-first, it has a great workflow and is very user-friendly. That really stood out for me. Of course, there is work to be done when getting any certifications but at no point did I ever feel overwhelmed or want to give up, which has happened with other providers! As a small business owner, I don’t have the luxury of spending hours on lengthy forms.”
“It was refreshing to have a certification process tailored to support growing businesses. From cost-effectiveness and accessibility to resource efficiency, there's a strong synergy for me and my business, and that was a significant win.”
An integral part of our business
“ethy now underpins and helps communicate what we do. The ethy certifications are prominent on our product pages, across our advertising, our social media and our website because it’s important to have third-party verification to give customers the confidence to trust our brand. Customers want more than us just saying - hey look at what we’re doing and take our word for it.”
“Without ethy’s independent verification to add credibility to what we’re saying, we wouldn’t have developed to the extent that we have in the last year. It’s a key part of our business plan and underpins a lot of what we do”
What’s next?
“Since joining ethy, we’ve started to donate a percentage of all our website revenue to charity and are working with other partners to do more. The 'Gives to Charity' standard is next on our radar and awaiting submission!”
“ethy will now sit at the core of our certifications, any further certifications will be to support it.”
The Sustainable Watch Company's journey with ethy illustrates the benefits of a partnership built on affordability, accessibility and holistic sustainability. ethy's tech-savvy approach, complemented by its user-friendly interface, has empowered small businesses like The Sustainable Watch Company to validate their sustainability commitments and achieve tangible ROI.
ethy's independent verification has become a cornerstone for the brand's credibility, fueling their growth and commitment to sustainable practices. As they continue to evolve, ethy will remain at the heart of the brand’s certification strategy, reinforcing their dedication to creating a more sustainable future.
