Timberland's Nutrient Label for Shoes

The Timberland Company, selected for our SB20 list for several years, has come up with an innovative way to increase its environmental leadership. Shoes will now be sold in boxes that carry a “nutrition label” that details the company’s environmental and community footprint.

Says Jeffrey Swartz, Timberland President and CEO, “We believe we’re going to see an industry shift towards greater product transparency for consumers and that they’ll come to expect that from all of the companies they do business with. Consumers deserve the most information possible to make intelligent purchasing decisions. We hope other retail companies will see the importance of these practices.”

Starting this year, the “Our Footprint” label – similar to a food nutrition label – will appear on the side of each footwear box. It will consists of three sections:

– Environmental Impact: the average amount of kilowatt hours (kWh) needed to produce a pair of Timberland footwear and how much of Timberland’s energy use comes from renewable energy sources.

– Community Impact: the percentage of factories assessed against the company’s code of conduct; Timberland’s no child labor policies; and the total hours volunteered in the community by Timberland employees

– Manufactured: Lists the name and location of the factory where the product was made.

The boxes are made from 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste fiber without chemical glues and only soy-based inks for the printing labels. The next evolution of the packaging will feature a “Green Index” hangtag, appearing on five products in February 2007.

The “Green Index” will assign product ratings from 0-10 based on the average of three specific categories:

– Climate: Rating based on the greenhouse gas emissions specific to the product.
– Chemical: Rating based on use of chemicals and solvents used in the manufacturing of the product.
– Material: Rating based on the use of organic, renewable and recycled materials.


www.timberland.com