Commercial, Energy Efficiency  -  September 3, 2020

Timberland explores path to become net-positive by 2030

Timberland announced Sept. 1 their new goal to be net positive by 2030.

To achieve this goal, the outdoor apparel company is pursuing two specific goals by 2030: 100% of products to be designed for circularity and 100% of natural materials to be sourced from regenerative agriculture.

“The environment today is in a degraded state. As a footwear and apparel brand, we are part of the problem,” Colleen Vien, director of sustainability for Timberland, said in a statement. “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.”

Timberland intends to focus on regenerative agriculture practices for their materials sourcing, such that crops and animal grazing follows a natural pattern that allows the land to heal and pull carbon out of the atmosphere to be stored in the earth for fertile soil.

They have been working to build a regenerative leather supply chain in the U.S., Australia and Brazil and recently announced a partnership with the Savory Institute to fund research into the benefits of regenerative agricultural practices.