Tom Ford Tackles Plastic Trash with Money and Style

Recently, my hometown of Santa Fe was abuzz with the sale of one of designer Tom Ford's luxe properties here. His gorgeous estate just outside of Santa Fe, all 20,000-plus acres of it, recently sold (and congrats to Polo Lifestyle’s friend Neil Lyon, whose Sotheby’s International Realty’s-associated Neil Lyon Group, brought the buyer to the deal).

While Ford’s ranch deal was being negotiated, the ever-cutting-edge aesthetic for which he is known found it’s way into a new timepiece and a driving passion to address the crisis of plastic trash in our oceans.

Late last year, Ford introduced the 002 Ocean Plastic Watch, billed as the “first luxury timepiece made entirely from 100% ocean plastic.” Each timepiece contains the equivalent of 35 discarded plastic bottles from the ocean and Ford describes the fusion of fashion and social consciousness at the heart of the 002 Ocean Plastic Watch with a simple statement: “In my opinion, ethical luxury is the greatest luxury of all.”

Coinciding with the release of the 002, Ford also announced his partnership with startup 52HZ in launching the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize (plasticprize.org). The “prize” is $1 million USD to find a more environmentally-friendly substitute for thin plastic film, which accounts for approximately half of all plastic pollution entering oceans annually. Once the prize is awarded, the plan is to have a scalable alternative to thin plastic film by 2025.

Ford’s new focus couldn’t be more timely for the urgency of climate action, or more sexy for a timepiece whose wearer wants to demonstrate their values.