There are so many deeply troubling statistics about plastic waste. They should be hard to ignore. For example, every year, as many as 13 million tonnes of plastic leak into our oceans, according to UN Environment. That’s a truckload every minute. An article on National Geographic reasons that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in our oceans, of which 269,000 tonnes float on the surface. Only 9 per cent of all plastic ever produced is thought to have been recycled.

There is a lot of work to do. For a number of years, Oris has been on a mission to bring Change for the Better, part of which has involved raising funds and awareness for some of the world’s most pioneering ocean conservation agencies. For example, we’ve been partnering with Everwave (formerly Pacific Garbage Screening) to promote the development of an innovative floating platform designed to prevent plastic waste reaching the ocean. But we always feel we can do more.

Now, we’re delighted to announce that we are officially climate neutral, certified by the independent climate action experts ClimatePartner. This comes as the result of a huge effort to offset and reduce our carbon emissions across our business – an effort that really only begins here. Today, reducing our emissions and behaving sustainably has become fundamental to everything we do.

To mark the start of this new chapter, we’re introducing the Aquis Date Upcycle, a version of our high-performance diver’s watch with a colourful dial made of recycled PET plastic.

As well as to show how plastic can be recycled and then upcycled to become a piece of luxury watchmaking art, the vision behind the watch is to encourage people all over the world to take part in clean-up days.

On that note, Oris, together with its global network of partners and suppliers, has been taking part in World Cleanup Day for a number of years. This year, we’re going further with Oris Change for the Better Days, quarterly clean-ups we’re organising all over the world. For these, our new partner #tide has produced special Oris ’Cleanup Bags’ made from recycled oceanplastic for us to collect trash in. Collecting trash, like education, is a collective responsibility and essential if we are to conserve our oceans for future generations.

The Cleanup Bag represents the start of an exciting new partnership with #tide, a specialist plastic recycling company based in Switzerland that uses an innovative production method to turn 100 per cent ocean-bound plastic into a new premium raw material.

#tide is committed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and has saved 15 million PET plastic bottles from entering the ocean. Its recycling processes save 52 per cent of the energy used in creating virgin plastics, and its production methods cause 79 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions. And its plastics can be recycled – again and again. You’ll also find them in #tide coffee cups, jewellery and even sports hall floors.

We have further projects in the pipeline with #tide, all of which will help us bring Change for the Better, create awareness, and reduce our carbon footprint.

The Aquis Date Upcycle is available with either a 41.5 mm or 36.5 mm case, both with recycled ocean-plastic dials. Each watch will be unique because the plastic recycling process produces random patterns, meaning no two dials will be the same. We’re not limiting either size, and we’ll keep making them for as long as there’s demand. Our hope is that our customers will choose the Aquis Date Upcycle and join us in making a daily commitment to resolving the world’s ocean plastic crisis.

Beyond the dial, the watches share their architecture with the popular Aquis Date 41.5 mm and 36.5 mm models. Both have a stainless steel case and a uni-directional rotating diver’s bezel with a scratch-resistant grey ceramic insert.

They also have a stainless steel bracelet with a clasp extension system, crown protectors, a screw-down crown and a Swiss Made automatic mechanical movement. Every watch comes in our grey presentation box made from sustainable and recyclable paper – one of our many recent developments that fed into our climate neutral status.

Our mission to bring Change for the Better continues. Next spring, we’ll publish our first sustainability report, outlining how we became climate neutral and a plan to make our business even more sustainable.

The Aquis Date Upcycle marks the moment Oris becomes climate neutral, and serves as a symbol of our continuing mission to protect the future of our planet. Together we can bring Change for the Better.