Archive for August, 2011
10-Sec Tech: Put a Little Spring in Your Step
Fashion meets comfort in the shortest romantic comedy ever – our latest 10-sec tech. Timberland’s 10-sec tech videos are for consumers who care that there’s innovative technology behind the look, feel and performance of our products, but don’t necessarily care to understand said technology in great detail. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll love our Suspension Heel Technology:
If you’re not convinced that mattress springs and tiny pogo sticks are behind our feet-friendly high heels, go ahead and watch our product team’s more straightforward explanation of Suspension Heel Technology. And if you’re ready to find your own pair of shock-absorbing, happy-making heels, shop our new arrivals now.
Spring ’12 Preview: Trail Wave Collection
Our thanks to the folks at Hiking Boots News for sharing this sneak peek at our spring 2012 Trail Wave collection for women, as showcased at Outdoor Retailer earlier this month. You can read the entire Hiking Boots News review on their website.
It’s particularly flattering that HBN calls our Radler Trail Camp Moc an Outdoor Retailer ‘darling’ – we love the Radler for all its lightweight, packable goodness, and glad to know someone else has the Radler love, too!
Trees, Bicycles and Building Community
People are really hungry for genuine experiences of community that bring people together that they feel connect them to their neighbors.
- Paul Freedman, Founder, Rock the Bike
Part 5 of our Dig It documentary highlights the positive impacts of tree planting beyond health and environmental benefits; when trees grow, so does a sense of community.
Another good for community / good for the environment tool is also featured in this Dig It segment: the bicycle. Meet the founder of Rock the Bike, an organization created to help “bike people” spread enthusiasm and awareness for the environmental, health and cultural benefits of bicycles.
Dig It is a Timberland documentary focused on the positive impacts of tree planting and featuring community planting projects in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. To watch the Dig It documentary in its entirety and to learn more about Timberland’s tree planting commitments and projects, click here.
Handsome Has a Name and It’s Tackhead
A few weeks ago, we offered a sneak peek at Timberland Boot Company’s fall collection for women. In fairness (and because we love these boots), we now give you some of Boot Company’s latest styles for men:
Tackhead 8-Inch Boot
Tackhead 6-Inch Boot
Tackhead Patch Boot
Click here to view the entire Boot Company collection. Ready to shop? Click here to buy Boot Company styles.
Behind the Scenes: Spanish Sailing Photo Shoot
Our Senior Director of Global Brand Marketing, Camelle, got a plum assignment recently: she traveled to Santander, Spain for a photo shoot of the Timberland-sponsored Spanish Olympic Sailing Team. Spain, sailors, summer … what’s not to love? Plenty, according to Camelle’s trip report:
If you really want to see the lengths we go to to test our gear and capture images of our products in action, the following video is for you. Fair warning that you might want to pop a Dramamine before viewing.
It was a chilly 60 degrees Fahrenheit the day of the photo shoot, and we were several miles out to sea, as evidenced by the large tanker ship passing nearby. The swells that day were huge – strong enough to turn many of the weaker stomachs onboard, and to cause the mast on the sailing team’s boat to break in the midst of our shoot.
Whoever said marketing is a glamorous job?
Through it all, the four women sailors we were photographing were calm and controlled and showed their absolute expertise on the boat and in the water. There’s no doubt these women belong on an Olympic team.
I never thought I’d be quite so personally grateful for the Gripstick Technology in our Formentor boat shoes … or to return to dry land at the end of the day.
Check back to the blog for more behind-the-scenes stories and videos from Timberland’s photo shoot, including one-on-one interviews with members of the Spanish Olympic Sailing Team.
Be Good To Your Feet: Anti-Fatigue Technology
Boot lovers who spend a lot of time on their feet might appreciate this news: we’re now using exclusive anti-fatigue technology to help make our boots more comfortable, longer. Here’s Brian, our VP of Men’s Footwear, to explain how the technology works:
Who couldn’t use a little extra cushion and comfort in their day? To shop our collection of anti-fatigue footwear, click here.
Tree Planting in India
Timberland India shared the following photo account of their first tree planting event held in Janakpuri, New Delhi last month. Over the course of the day, they planted 118 assorted palm trees and provided much needed greening for a neighborhood park.
We look forward to sharing more photos and tree planting stories as Timberland India works toward their tree planting goal: 1,200 trees by December 2011.
On July 31, TBL India launched its Tree Planting Program under the guidance of Peepal Baba (pictured above) from Janakpuri in New Delhi. Born as Prem Parivartan, Peepal Baba got his popular nickname from the type of tree he plants. He is a tree evangelist who started planting trees at the age of 10.
The park at Janakpuri
5 foot tall palms which will add to the green cover of Janakpuri Park
Ground being prepared
Trees arrive in eco-friendly transport
Volunteers get instruction from Peepal Baba on techniques of digging
Never too late to plant your first tree!
First tree planted by TBL India
... and soon many followed
Presenting nature's heroes
... and TBL India's evangelist
Victory Garden Sprouts in Vietnam
Timberland’s code of conduct coordinator in Vietnam had this success story to share from General Shoes Co. Ltd., one of our factory partners there:
In front of me is a garden full of green vegetables and laden with fresh squashes. This is the vegetable garden at the General Shoes factory.
Looking at the vegetable garden in the morning sunshine makes me recall the strike that happened in this factory 10 months ago, sparked by workers dissatisfied by the lack of clean, healthy food. When the strike occurred, the manager asked me how to solve the problem. I advised him to use his own workers instead of a food subcontractor to supply and serve food for the factory, and think about how to provide healthy, fresh food for their employees.
The factory hired one new manager who took care of their canteen, and used the factory’s own workers to serve the food. The employees’ food was significantly improved, and feedback showed workers were satisfied with the changes.
6 months later this 2500 square meter vegetable garden was born, planted on the available land behind the factory. Several factory employees who have planting experience tend to the garden, which is filled with morning glories, bitter melon, squash, cucumbers … planting varies on a seasonal basis and the garden provides fresh vegetables for factory workers every day.
Factory employees shared this positive feedback about their “victory garden”:
“I feel safe when I have lunch in the factory. Outside vegetables are very expensive and have a lot of chemicals. I think the factory is kind to plant (the garden) for us.”
“I worked here for years and witnessed many strikes relating to food, but now the factory is much better. They changed the kitchen people, improved our meals and now we have fresh vegetables.”
“I like to do this job (picking the vegetables). When I pick, I feel very happy as I see the achievement from my planting. I would like to have more land for more planting.”
Free Music Friday: Luke Reynolds
Timberland’s artist of the month for August is Grammy-nominated songwriter and “multi-instrumentalist” Luke Reynolds — an outdoor enthusiast who has performed at festivals like Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza and recently joined the acclaimed band Guster. Luke’s commitment to environmentalism has a double-benefit: buying less stuff not only reduces his waste, but also helps him save money for a piece of land in Vermont!
You can download Luke’s song “Church on Sunday” for free on our music page. And while you’re there, be sure to check out our previously-featured artists of the month.
Know an amazing musician who’s also passionate about the outdoors? Tell us! Either comment here or email music@timberland.com.
Timberland.com Comes to Ireland
We’re proud to announce the arrival of Timberland’s first ever e-commerce website in Ireland: www.timberlandireland.ie!
The easy to use, dynamic and interactive site features a fresh design and offers Irish shoppers the ability to buy Timberland products as well as interact more deeply with the brand. Site features include:
- A broad selection of men’s, women’s and kids footwear, as well as men’s apparel.
- Products arranged in lifestyle-focused categories for easy browsing and buying; visitors can click on “shoppable” images in promotional banners, much like a store front window.
- More than just an online store, Timberlandireland.ie has products and values interwoven throughout – aiming not only to increase sales for Timberland but also to raise awareness about the brand, the products and the company’s commitment to social responsibility and environmental stewardship.
The site also is an important resource for Timberland’s brick-and-mortar stores. Some visitors many “window shop” online and purchase at a store, or while shopping in a store customers could be referred to the website to view our more complete product selection.
The Ireland website gives visitors the ability to sign up for regular email updates and offers, and Ireland residents receive free shipping on their online orders. The new website was designed by Cork based company, Fireball media, and we think they did a superb job … check it out today and see for yourself!
