SJX's 2008 post critically examines IWC's 'Climate Action' Ingenieur, a limited edition watch intended to fund The Climate Group. This article explores the early days of luxury watch brands engaging with environmental causes, prompting readers to consider the authenticity and effectiveness of such initiatives. SJX challenges the marketing narrative, inviting a discussion on corporate social responsibility in the watch industry.
Photo: Anthony Tsai
IWC unveiled the Ingenieur "Climate Action" at SIHH 2008. Essentially a ceramic-bezel Ingenieur with a white and yellow dial instead of the standard black and red, this limited edition Ingenieur will help fund The Climate Group; proceeds from the sale of the 1000-piece edition go to the NGO.
The manufacture in Schaffhausen is also doing its part to save the environment through reducing its CO2 footprint with "alternative technologies". In fact, IWC is even investing in a wind energy project in China to balance out the CO2 emissions that can't be alternatively technologied away.
No doubt we must take marketing with a pinch of salt but this seems to be stretching it. The inconvenient truth of the matter is that IWC appears, to me at least, to be jumping on the bandwagon, since the subject of the environment is hotting up.
Of course IWC is not alone in this, another brand (I think it was Wyler) put out a press release some time back proclaiming the green credentials - a carbon-neutral manufacture no less - of the brand. I don't know which is worse, claiming to be carbon-neutral, or being a manufacture!
What do you make of all this?
- SJX
This message has been edited by SJX on 2008-04-21 05:51:25
