Posts Tagged ‘environmental responsibility’
We’re Dreaming of a ‘Green’ Christmas?
The last thing many of us consider when planning our holiday celebrations is the impact of those festivities on the environment … but a new survey commissioned by our Timberland team in the UK shows that eco-habits are far more engrained in British Christmas traditions than we might expect.
A surprising 100% of Brits surveyed say they do take steps to minimize their carbon footprint and help the environment during this festive season. These include replanting Christmas trees, buying organic ingredients for their Christmas day feast and wrapping gifts in recycled paper. Over 60% turn off their Christmas lights when they’re not at home, with 80% doing so to promote eco-values to their children.
And of course, holiday eco-consciousness starts at the top: 81% believe Father Christmas is the ultimate eco-hero for flying around the world on sustainable transportation.
At Timberland, protecting the environment is second nature to us. Because we make and sell gear for the outdoors, our business has a stake in seeing it thrive. We’re thrilled to see that Brits share the same passion and have made so many green behaviors part of their family Christmas.
Anabel Drese, European CSR Manager
What do you do to lighten the environmental impact of your holiday season? Tell us here.
Three Reasons Why We Love Earth Day
What’s to love about a day of community service in honor of Earth Day?
#1. POWER TOOLS
#2. PAINT
#3. WHEELBARROWS
We also love mulch, rakes, hammers and all sorts of other toys of the great outdoors we don’t get to play with during the course of a normal business day.
Timberland volunteers were not the only ones to get out and celebrate Earth Day this week – it looks like our West Coast colleagues at The North Face, lucy and JanSport had a great day doing good work, too:
Yes, it was a lot of fun – and incredibly meaningful for the local community and environmental organizations who benefited from our efforts. Thanks to the Timberland and VF volunteers who took time out this week to make a difference in their world; the sore muscles and sunburned arms were well worth it.
Lace ‘Em Up and Move ‘Em Out: It’s Earth Day!
Okay – so technically Earth Day isn’t until April 22, but why wait? We’re an outdoors brand that cares an awful lot about the environment (it is, after all, our playground), and we’re headed out a few days early to give it some extra TLC.
If you’re thinking that Earth Day service isn’t for you because it’s too unsavory (think smelly roadside trash pickup) or too episodic (you clean up smelly roadside trash today, only to find more in its place tomorrow), here are some examples of the kinds of things our Timberland team around the globe will be doing this week – and month – to celebrate Earth Day and support the notion of environmental sustainability:
- Getting rid of bad seeds: At Pasir Ris Park in Singapore, volunteers from Timberland’s Asian Headquarters will remove invasive species, including Pong Pong fruits and ferns, to help preserve an area of mangrove trees.
- Educating future environmentalists: In Milan Italy, Timberland volunteers will partner with Legambiente to teach 200+ children about the importance of respecting the environment. The students will have an opportunity to put learning into practice as they remove graffiti, plant trees and create a botanical garden.
- Making greater use of the great outdoors: In a local community in our own home state of New Hampshire, volunteers will help to transform overgrown and under-utilized conservation land into a public park with areas for playing and picnicing, as well as a trail network.
And, we’re spreading the love. This is Timberland’s first Earth Day as a member of the VF Corporation family, and we’re beyond excited to have several of our “siblings” joining in our longstanding tradition of community service. San Francisco-area employees from The North Face, JanSport and lucy will be volunteering this week for the Alameda Point Collaborative, an organization that provides transitional housing for formerly homeless people and families. And further south, our colleagues at Vans, Reef and Eagle Creek are planning their own Earth Day service celebrations as well.
All told, we’ve got more than 3,500 volunteers doing their part to revitalize nearly 150 communities around the world. That’s a lot of boots on the ground doing a lot of good hard work for our dear Mother Earth.
Stay tuned! We’ll be sharing photos, video and Earth Day event recaps here on the Bootmakers Blog. Want to get in on the action? Visit Earth Day Network’s website to find out about Earth Day events in your area.
Going Green in Boston
I’m not Irish, but I’m sure feeling it today. St. Patrick’s Day in Boston is an unparalleled experience.
No, I’m not downing Guinness at the Black Rose … I’m celebrating St. Patrick’s Day by opening the new Timberland store on Boston’s famed Newbury Street. What’s so green about a shoe store? In a word, everything. From the tabletops reclaimed from old athletic bleachers to the recycled stoneware floor tiles to LED lighting and low VOC paints, we’ve designed this store – and the ones like it that will open later this spring in New York and San Francisco – to serve as a real-life example of how we’re working to reduce our environmental footprint and operate our business more responsibly and sustainably.
Despite the St. Paddy’s Day launch and the opportunity it gives us to cleverly (or not) play up the “green” aspects of our store, our commitment to environmental sustainability isn’t a marketing tactic … it’s as much a part of our heritage as Boston itself. My grandfather started this business as the Abington Shoe Company on Camden Street, just blocks from where our new store is opening today.
I can remember my grandfather stopping to pick up sewing bobbins off the factory floor when I was a kid … as he would pick them up, he’d say, “there’s a penny … there’s a penny …” it wasn’t called recycling in his day, it was called frugality. Make the best use that you can, for as long as you can, out of what you have – not in order to save the environment, but in order to save a buck. Three generations later, here we are staring at reclaimed wood countertops and marveling at the shiny new LED light fixtures. Same value, different outcomes.
Some might argue that it would be cheaper and less complicated to design our new stores with less emphasis on the environmental and more focus on, I dunno, the actual products we’re trying to sell … but then they would be missing the point that businesses today should be doing both. We don’t have to make a choice between creating beautiful, durable products that perform and operating our business in a way that’s mindful of the environment or our impact on it. To the contrary — as an brand and a business that makes boots, shoes and gear for the outdoors, it’s in our best interest to help preserve it … and reduce our impact on it, any and every way we can. Just as every new store puts us more boldly on the map, every step we take to put our environmental values into action – from Earthkeepers products to stores designed with environmental consciousness and consideration – lends credence to the notion that businesses can and should be a force for environmental good.
In the spirit of environmental responsibility, I can do without the Dirty Water (yech) … but otherwise, the Standells had it right. Boston, you’re my home … and there’s no place I’d rather be celebrating heritage and values and all things green today.
