In The Shop - Shop Spotlight: Our Latest Strap Collection Is Made From Pineapple Leaves

Strap collecting can be just as much fun as watch collecting. In fact, trying out a wide variety of straps is a rite of passage any watch enthusiast goes through; it's a journey we know well. Even if you have a one-watch collection, you can turn that single piece into several more with the right selection of straps. But perhaps collecting straps isn't part of your watch hobby. And there might be a good reason why. With the exception of rubber straps, textile or fabric straps, and nylon NATO-style straps, most straps are made from leather, be it calfskin, crocodile, goat, or even kangaroo . It's clear that straps made from animal hide just aren't for everyone, but here at HODINKEE, we believe we all should be able to experiment with new straps. That's precisely why we're excited to offer our first-ever 100 percent vegan straps in the HODINKEE Shop, just in time for Earth Day. What Makes The Amagoh Strap 100% Vegan? Many of the so-called "vegan" straps currently out there claim to be 100 percent vegan, even if they aren't made exclusively from plants or vegetables. However, just because a strap isn't made from animal products doesn't mean it's automatically vegan. That's why we're proud to say our vegan straps wholly and fully live up to their name. The new Amagoh Strap collection is made entirely from pineapples – more specifically, from the fibers of pineapple leaves. The result is a robust yet lightweight material with a unique texture that's similar to leather but with a more coarse and stiff texture that becomes soft and pliable with use. You may be wondering how a simple pineapple leaf could possibly form this gorgeous vegan strap. It's a natural question, so let's dig in! How It's Made After a pineapple harvest, the leaves of the picked fruits are left behind and, for us, serve as the perfect base for a watch strap. Once these discarded leaves are gathered, they're sorted, and the suitable leaves are collected in bundles for processing through a proprietary method that extracts the fibers. These fibers are then washed and sun-dried when weather permits, alternatively being dried in ovens during rainy seasons. Once dried, the fibers go through a purification process to remove any contaminants, as well as gum or pectin, which can make natural fibers stiff. The resulting substance is a fluff-like material, otherwise called pineapple leaf fiber, or PALF, that's soft and breathable. The PALF is then felted by matting, condensing, and pressing the fibers together, and united through a series of mechanical, thermal, and chemical processes – the secret sauce that gives us the non-woven, mesh-like material that's specially finished to create our vegan straps. The end result is pineapple leather, which is naturally water-resistant and meets the ISO international standards tests for abrasion resistance, seam rupture, tear resistance, tensile strength, and colorfastness. When it comes to making a 100 percent vegan strap, the devil is in the details. In addition to this intricate manufacturing process, there's another important aspect worth noting. Our Amagoh Strap collection can proudly boast the claim of being truly vegan, because they're unlined. Instead, we "self-line" the strap using layers of the same pineapple-based material. So when you look at the strap, you'll see two layers of pineapple leather, one for the exterior and the other for the lining leather. Like any lined leather, our pineapple leather straps go through an additional process that make them softer and more sweat proof. Five Earth Day–Approved Colors For our initial assortment of Amagoh Vegan Pineapple Leather Watch Straps, we have a selection of five rich and beautiful colors whose names draw from famous natural landmarks in the United States. Each of these bold hues is made from 100 percent certified organic textile-grade pigments. This, in combination with the composition of the strap itself, makes our Amagoh Vegan Pineapple Leather Watch Straps 100 percent biodegradable too. If you're looking for the ideal strap for everyday wear, we have three gorgeous neutral tones: Kilauea, a soft black hue named for the Hawaiian volcano; Carlsbad Caverns, a dark brown color inspired by the caves of the National Park in New Mexico; and Mesa Verde, a mid-brown reflecting the rich forests and cliff dwellings of the National Park in Colorado. However, if you want something a little brighter and more fun, we have two vibrant colorways that are equally lovely as the more subdued tones. First, there's a dreamy, dusty blue that pays homage to the striking waters of Glacier Bay in Alaska, and then, there's a handsome, warm reddish clay color named after the desert sands of Death Valley. Explore The Full Selection Of Straps In The HODINKEE Shop At HODINKEE, we've always been proud of the incredibly diverse and versatile strap assortment we offer. However, we've long been missing a vegan option as an alternative to traditional leather. Our first-ever 100 percent vegan straps have arrived for Earth Day and to welcome spring and summer weather, just when you might find yourself itching to give your favorite watch a new look and feel. The Amagoh Vegan Pineapple Leather Watch Strap is a stylish, responsible, and eco-friendly way to refresh your watch for the warmer months, for just $110 each. Check out all five colors – and a whole lot more – now in the HODINKEE Shop .In time for Earth Day, we welcome the new Amagoh Vegan Pineapple Leather Strap collection.