Timberland, the VF Corp. owned footwear and apparel company, is setting an ambitious goal of building the supply chain with a “net positive impact” on the world by 2030 in retaliation for its carbon footprint. The two-fold approach would impact the pipeline’s two ends. Timberland aims to eventually provide regenerative agriculture to all its natural resources and products from suppliers that are also following a circular design approach.
“We’ve always believed that a greener future is a better future. At the same time we are extremely aware of the environmental impact of the fashion industry,” noted Colleen Vien, Timberland’s director of sustainability. “For decades Timberland has worked to minimize our impact, but it’s time to do better than that.”
Following last year’s pilot partnership with Other Half Processing to build out a responsible leather supply chain, Timberland is now pledging to turn regenerative agriculture into the new normal by 2030 by extending the practice to the sourcing of other materials, including rubber, cotton, wool and sugar cane. Regeneratively grazed cattle and regenerative crops allow for rest and regrowth of grasses, leading to better food for livestock and healthier and more fertile soil that in turn reduces carbon emissions.
Announcing the pilot project on leather sourcing last October, Timberland had said it expects to source 30 percent of its leather from regenerative sources by 2025. Timberland shall increase the amount of recycled materials used, including PET bottles and pre-consumption wool or leather scraps, on the circular design board. The design will also be approached to allow every piece of clothing, footwear and accessory to be recycled and items to be used for settlement. “We are committed to building the bar in order to create a” net positive “effect to support the sustainability and environmental protection, motivating ourselves by nature with the emphasis on circular design and regenerative farming,” Vien says.
