In order to continue to address the environmental impact of its operations
and of the fashion industry at large,
Timberland today
announced a goal for its products to have a net positive impact on nature —
giving back more than they take — by 2030.
In pursuit of its net-positive vision, Timberland has set two specific,
measurable goals to achieve by 2030:
-
100 percent of products to be designed for circularity, to achieve zero
waste; and
-
100 percent of natural materials to be sourced from regenerative
agriculture, to push past net zero and have a net positive impact on nature.
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“The environment today is in a degraded state. As a footwear and apparel brand, we are part of the problem,” said Colleen Vien, director of sustainability for Timberland. “For decades Timberland has worked to minimize our impact, but it’s time to do better than that. Imagine a boot that puts more carbon back into the land than was emitted during production. By following nature’s lead, and focusing on circular design and regenerative agriculture, we aim to tip the scales to have a net positive impact — to go beyond sustainability and help nature thrive. We are incredibly excited about this journey, and hope to inspire the industry as a whole to work together and change the trajectory of our collective future.”
Product circularity
To emulate nature’s closed-loop, zero-waste processes, Timberland’s goal is
for all of its products — across footwear, apparel and accessories — to be
designed for circularity. The company's original Earthkeepers® boot, launched in 2007, were made with recycled PET linings and recycled rubber soles. In 2010, the brand followed up with its first foray into circular design with the Earthkeepers 2.0 boot — designed to be fully disassembled for recycling at the end of its life.
Now, the brand promises to expand on that — with products to be made using
materials that would have otherwise gone to waste (e.g., plastic bottles,
scrap leather, scrap wool); and designed to be recyclable at end of life,
for easy disassembly and reuse of materials.
Regenerative agriculture
Timberland's forthcoming Regenerative Leather boots | Image credit: Timberland
More and more CPG brands are committing to having their ingredients and
materials produced through regenerative
practices,
to ensure restoration of soil health and maximize its ability to sequester
carbon.
Timberland’s new goal is for all of the organic materials used in its
products to be sourced through regenerative agriculture by 2030.
As a founding member of the Leather Working Group in 2005,
Timberland led the charge around improving production and sourcing practices
around leather in the fashion industry — helping to drive the adoption of
industry-wide environmental best practices at tanneries around the world.
In 2019, Timberland was among brands that funded comprehensive research
into the benefits of regenerative ranching
practices.
Since then, the brand has partnered with the Savory Institute, as well as
producers such as Other Half
Processing —
which partners with farmers, tribes, and ranchers such as Thousand Hills
Lifetime Grazed to source hides
and other high-quality leather byproducts from regenerative, organic and more
sustainably raised animals — as part of a long-term effort to build a
network of early-adopter regenerative ranches with its large-scale tannery
partners to help build a regenerative supply chain in the US,
Australia and Brazil for footwear and apparel.
This fall, Timberland will reintroduce its Earthkeepers platform as evidence
of its continued commitment to innovating around product sustainability; and
launch its first collection of Regenerative Leather boots — made from
leather sourced from Thousand Hills, via sourcing partner Other Half
Processing — with plans to scale significantly in the coming seasons.
The company is also working to cultivate regenerative supply chains for
rubber, cotton, wool and sugarcane.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Sep 1, 2020 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST