Pete Girard (Timberland) | 12/21/2009

Greg, the book "cradle to cradle" is a great example to illustrate where we are in our design process. While what's on the pages is great, I'm actually talking about the book itself. It is a polymer with inks made to be recycled, but do you know anyone who has actually recycled a copy? or who can readily name where to send it for recycling? We are in a similar space with our footwear. We are beginning to design with recycling in mind by choosing appropriate materials and constructions that can be pulled apart efficiently. Unfortunately we do face some pretty large challenges in overcoming the reverse supply chain challenges and providing appropriate consumer participation incentives. We aren't alone on this. I just looked at recycling my old ipod shuffle and I can get $0-3 in credit for it. Shipping gets covered but there's not much added incentive for me to clean out my closet. Currently the materials value of recycling items makes it difficult to overcome collection costs. We are working on this and beginning to pilot programs but if you have ideas about relevant recycling examples from other industries please do post them here.

Greg Pilla | 12/19/2009

I think the most important aspect about a product and consumer choices has to do with the products initial design. The key question is this: Can this product be infinitely recycled? To clarify, can a product be made of materials that can be completely recycled AND is their a recollection program with incentives so that consumers give old boots for example back to timberland.
If you want to take your business to the next level you must think in closed cycles. I suggest whoever reads this - goes on to read William McDonough's book titled "Cradle to Cradle."

Betsy Blaisdell - Environmental Stewardship @ Timberland | 12/9/2009

Partnering with corporations to advance consumer education is a great idea -and one that we're actively working on. For example, we're collaborating with the Outdoor Industry Association Eco-Working Group to develop common environmental metrics for outdoor industry products. We're also lobbying with consumer-facing brands (www.ceres.org/bicep) in DC to get climate change legislation passed. While these efforts are generating impact within our industry we haven't been successful at making the results or challenges consumer facing. I would love to hear your thoughts on what more we can/should be doing.

Betsy Blaisdell - Environmental Stewardship @ Timberland | 12/9/2009

Gary: I appreciate your point about consumer education. We've really struggled with this over the years. In the distracting space of a retail environment or an e-commerce site, how do you begin to grab consumer's attention on topics like climate change? We've started by showcasing in our stores things that we're doing/consumers can do to reduce their climate impact. For example, we have put nutrition labels on our footwear to talk about our climate impact, and have increased our use of eco-conscious materials, in an effort to raise awareness and impact purchase decisions. We've also invited our consumers to engage in community greening projects with our retail stores globally. More recently, we've explored the Web 2.0 space by using Twitter and our blog at wwww.earthkeeper.com to share information. Our Earthkeeper Heroes provide inspiration for aspiring change agents. For consumers more interested in engaging in a more tangible way we have launched a "Don't Tell Us it Can't be Done Campaign" to send a signal to global leaders that consumers and businesses demand a global deal on climate.

Professor Erica Plambeck and Pamela Yatsko, Stanford University Graduate School of Business | 12/4/2009

Our research shows that the lack of a trusted common standard is holding back eco-labeling efforts throughout the industry. Brands should collaborate to adopt common standards to effectively communicate to customers the social and environmental impacts of products throughout the life cycle (production, transportation, use and recycling or disposal at the end of useful life) and educate customers to understand those impacts and make well-informed choices.

Gary Coffin | 10/29/2009

I think Timberland is doing the world a great service by taking measures to make certain it produces its products and conducts business in a socially responsible manner. I think there is a segment of the population who seek out companies such as Timberland when making purchasing decisions. However, I feel these types of consumers are in the minority. I feel one of the best ways to make the lasting change needed in having more companies become socially responsible and conscience partners in the world, is through consumer demand. If the majority of the consumers shift their purchase patterns to buying only from socially responsible organizations, our system of business will have to change for individual corporations to remain viable. I think better consumer education on issues such as sustainability and fair trade is needed from both the government and private sector in order to attain this change in demand. Timberland is ahead of most companies in what they have available to educate the consumer. Have you considered any education partnerships with other corporations or governments to educate a greater number of consumers?

Jennifer Myers | 10/28/2009

I think the more information a consumer may have access to, the more aware he/she will be in future purchasing decisions. Some may not buy into labels or find them relevant, but I think it's a step in the right direction towards generating consumer awareness of environmental impacts. I would definitely be interested to see where my products come from and how they're production impacts the environment. I think this is a fantastic idea and am impressed at Timberland's efforts around this area! I also think it might be benficial to state means of sustainability or giving back to the environment when disclosing product information. For example, when I purchased my laptop from Dell I was given the option to buy a recycle kit and have a tree planted. Just a thought!

Lynne Somers | 10/27/2009

From a consumer standpoint I'd like to know more about where my products come from. Perhaps a brief "bio" of the product in terms of where it was made, the environmental impact of the resources, and something about the social impact as well. I have a personal bias towards caring a little more that the people and local communities involved were well taken care of than the environment (though of course I wouldn't want one sacrificed over another). I think that Green Labeling is a great idea and am looking forward to see how Timberland does in it's goal of increasing the percentage of products that carry it.

Pete Girard (Timberland) | 10/27/2009

Even if our label's had zero impact on consumers, I would argue that they have an immense benefit in that they force us at Timberland to a) decide what's important to us in designing product with respect to environment and b) hold ourselves accountable by being transparent. In the end I think the label does convey to consumers that we are actively struggling with the process of making higher value and lower impact product. Even if that is the only theme that comes through some of the complexity of environmental metrics I think its worth it for us, and I think the consumer recognizes that broad theme as a point of differentiation. I like Mike's point that some themes will need repeating over time in order to gain traction and for us I think communicating the idea that we are engaging the challenge of making a high value, low impact product is one of those long term threads.

TomR | 10/26/2009

I wish I believed labeling would make a difference, but I don't. With food labels we have an obesity epidemic. That's not causal, but the correspondence does suggest that the educational value of labels for consumers in general is limited.

To my mind, one of the most important things we can do is to ensure that companies that do a good deed won't be attacked because they didn't do better. I have dealt with a significant number of companies that are reluctant to discuss their environmental initiatives because doing so simply makes them a target. Any company that does a good thing should be applauded, just as one says, "good dog" to a puppy that finally does its business outside. The rules of training a dog and dealing with people are largely identical. Those who make the latter more complex are likely to cause confusion.

Mike Brown | 10/26/2009

All of three voice important aspects of communicating with consumers and certainly underscore that honest communication is a key factor. I think it is important to keep in mind that there isn't just one consumer, that people need different types of information and a variety of means of communication--some want simple stories communicated in visually stunning advertisements; others want to know a lot of detail and are willing to dig through a text heavy website to get at it. It's also important that we recognize that some types of communication need to occur over and over again across a long time span. We like to think we can talk about some things once or twice and then move on. But for the really important stuff, the stories have to be compelling and repeated for each new generation.

Juan Pujol | 10/25/2009

I don't doubt that including environmental labels on the products is the way of the future. Over time, more and more companies will better understand the importance of identifying these impacts on the environment in order to promote transparency and awareness in working towards a healthier planet. I believe the ultimate challenge will be transferring the sense of urgency and importance to the consumer. A very successful labeling system will be one that consumers can relate to the most. There needs to be a connection with the positive environmental impact and the consumer's life. The fundamental motivation that one has to recycle, for example, should be the same basic feeling a consumer experiences when examining a standard label across millions of products.

SeungEun Baek | 10/25/2009

I think it would be great if the product case/box could spare a very small section for the relevant environmental news (updates) or information regarding the show production and its impact on our environment. This may sound very similar to the company’s Green Index labeling but it can be differentiated by putting emphasis on mainly “informing” the consumers. I believe that in order to make consumers consider the environment in their purchasing decision, it is important for us to find a way to get consumers “involved” in this environmental issue. By reading such news/information, consumers can become more aware of the environmental issues regarding shoe production, and because of such knowledge, they will consider environment in their purchasing decision.

Annalyn Lui Kuo | 10/24/2009

I believe that the sole act of Timberland including a Green Index on its products sets a powerful example for the industry to follow, representing a great movement forward in the becoming more environmentally-conscious. For the private sector as a whole, authentic transparency in production process reporting would likely have a beneficial impact to consumers, as Joel Makower and David Labistour addressed. Through openly expressing the lengths a company undergoes to become more environmentally-friendly, I think consumer awareness of the issues not only increases, but consumer perceptions potentially become more positive, which may also prompt skepticism. Unfortunately, the involvement of many consumers in green movements remain limited and efforts of do-good companies are envisioned as publicity statements. Through an industry-wide standardized system of measuring a company's sustainability practices, consumers may hopefully become more aware of the environmental externalities of production and the efforts of some companies, such as Timberland, to limit these.

Gregor Barnum - Director of Higher Consciousness - Seventh Generation, Inc. | 10/23/2009

I wonder if there is an elephant in the room on this question. And I too wonder what framework is needed to actually see this elephant. Walk into any grocery market with the eye (I) that every dollar you spend touches environmental and social systems - if your quest was not to buy what you need rather to buy items that produced a higher level of wealth in all systems effective by the products in the market, what would you buy? I am borrowing Buckminister Fuller's definition of wealth in this frame: wealth is defined by Fuller as the "technological ability to protect, nurture, support, and accommodate all growth needs of life". No matter what information we give the consumer, we in the business world need to ask the question are we designing our products/services not from just reducing impact, rather for providing more wealth to the systems we touch. Thus, I think before we even begin to think about educating the consumer we need to educate ourselves as to our present design. In our every deliberation how are we in the business world going to create a shift in our think that designs a higher level of wealth on the planet... Bucky said it better: "if the Success or Failure of this Planet, and of Human Beings, Depended on How I Am and What I Do, How Would I Be? What Would I Do? G

Beth | 10/22/2009

It needs to be easy for a consumer to understand and assimilate. Relatively few consumers are going to dig deep to learn more about what a company practices are. So it is up to the marketers to bring those stories forth in a clear fashion that consumers can understand while also working closely with the CSR department to ensure the messaging is accurate. Also think we have to realize that the environment is not the most important message to all consumers but that it is a great supporting message when done correctly.

Marcela | 10/22/2009

Hi Pete, it would be a great comfort to know that there is one less pair of shoes that will be in a landfill! I think consumers want ease - both in purchasing and in information content. Knowing that the pair of boots I buy are going to be made into something else eventually, and that they were made with clean energy by a fairly paid worker is definitely an incentive for me to even buy the shoes in the first place. I would also be encouraged to send them back if it could be easy - for example, if I could simply print a return label from the Timberland site, send the boots back and get a small discount towards my next pair.

Beth Holzman, Timberland | 10/22/2009

There are great questions and comments here regarding the information consumers are looking and/or are ready for. At Timberland, we believe that it is possible to communicate environmental impacts in simple language. That’s why we’ve developed the Green Index – our product specific label that conveys the climate, chemical and resource impacts of a particular shoe. We recognize that putting this label on our products alone is not going to change consumers’ ability to make informed choices; we need many brands to use a common standard. (Learn more about our Green Index program and industry labeling efforts in Timberland’s Dig Deeper paper – accessible on the Reporting page). With regard to how much energy is used in manufacturing products and shipping, this is an area where transparency can be improved. From our own lifecycle analysis, we’ve learned that the climate impact of raw materials in our footwear far outweighs product manufacturing and shipping. However, we recognize the importance of reducing climate impacts throughout the supply chain. For example, we were among the first companies to disclose the energy used at our factories (see quarterly reporting, also on the reporting page), and we are working to measure and reduce the impacts of our transportation choices. Unfortunately, there’s not yet an international standard for measuring the carbon footprint of these aspects in our supply chain. It's important that we communicate using common metrics and language in order to make these impacts understandable and comparable.

Tom R | 10/21/2009

My experience both as a journalist for 20 years and a renewable energy and sustainability executive for more than 10 years is that consumers are largely ignorant about and indifferent to the issues that we debate. In many important respects, the key task is not necessarily for our companies to become ever more pure and transparent, but for us to learn how to speak simply to buyers so that they, first, care about the work we are doing, and second, include those good deeds in making their decisions of what to buy.

Pete Girard, Timberland | 10/21/2009

Marcela, We are experimenting with DFD in a number of new product lines as well as looking at retrofits to handle existing models. Considering that many of our shoes have dozens of pieces and materials the focus of our efforts is to reduce the number of different materials used and establish constructions that can be disassembled. The infrastructure needed to deal with taking back shoes varies by the material but most of our work centers around getting the shoes back into pure materials that can be handled by our recycling partners. One of the challenges we will have to work through as we implement these programs is how to appropriately incentivize consumers to give us worn out shoes back without spending an unsustainable amount of money to do so. What would make it worth your while to check if your shoe could be recycled and send us back your old shoes?

Monika Aring, President, Promise in ACtion Enterprises | 10/21/2009

I would like the products I buy to 1) tell me about who made it and where. Wouldn't it be great if on the label I could read, "made with care for you by .....(insert name, city, country, and I earned a living wage.) As a consumer, I'd pay more just to have that info, I'd feel I was in integrity with my values.
2) I'd like to know how the energy used in producing it along the supply chain and shipping it balances out. Yes, the technicalities are difficult; however, it should be possible to communicate these in clear, simple langue.

Valerie Laverdiere | 10/20/2009

I think if companies released information about their energy use, it may greatly affect their public image. It would show which companies are only aiming for their own gain without any regard for the damage they may be doing. People may respect companies that try to save energy more. Of course, there is always the issue that some companies require more energy to work than others.

Kaylee G | 10/20/2009

I agree with Joel as well.

Marcela | 10/19/2009

It is exciting to hear that Timberland’s Design for Disassembly (DFD) boot can be taken apart for the purpose of making other shoes and boots. What kind of infrastructure will be needed for this initiative? Does Timberland plan to design its entire line of boots like this?

Tom | 10/19/2009

I believe companies can and should provide a vehicle for recycling products but in the end the consumer is the ultimate driver of success. We as consumers need to demand these services.

Beth Holzman, Timberland | 10/15/2009

What about product take back programs? How are products really recycled to have a longer life?

Pete Girard (Timberland) | 10/14/2009

I like Joel's three conditions, but I disagree slightly with the first "can the company demonstrate that it fully understands its negative impacts across its operations?". This is a very high, if not impossible bar. I think that a company needs to clearly recognize the scope of its impacts with an inclusive view of their supply chain. This recognition of scope and then striving to capture all impacts as a bold goal, allows for the reality of some very long and complex materials supply chains. It is absolutely critical that we recognize companies taking a broad view of their impacts because this greatly increases the difficulty of making clear product environmental impact statements. Companies taking a narrow view of their impacts can be more accurate in what they do know, and state publicly, but there is a huge risk of those accurate statements being meaningless because their scope is too small.

It may seem like semantics, but some of the best informed companies seem to make very few statements precisely because they do understand the uncertainty in their supply chains. There has to be some consumer recognition of scope of analysis otherwise companies who are transparent and cognizant about their uncertainty will be penalized.

Sylvia Kinnicutt | 10/13/2009

I agree with Joel. Consumers cannot process a great deal of information at the point of sale and they have different values when it comes to the environment and social responsibility. As a consumer, I would want to know, what is the one thing that is different and unique about a product? Is it made from a new eco-friendly material? Did the company use a record low amount of chemicals to produce it? I would like to see this information displayed prominently. A knowledgeable sales force that can speak to the environmental-friendliness of the product choices would also go a long way in educating consumers.