drapersonline | 21 APRIL 2022
By Kirsty Mcgregor
In 2020, Timberland announced a bold goal for all of its products to have a net positive impact on nature by 2030. This means all of its products will be designed to be circular, and all of the natural materials it uses will be sourced through regenerative agriculture.
Regenerative agriculture practices enable the land to pull carbon out of the atmosphere and efficiently store it in the ground, rebuilding the structure of the soil and leading to healthy, hydrated, fertile ground. Timberland is currently pioneering regenerative agriculture across three of its top volume materials: leather, cotton and rubber.
For example, in spring 2021, Timberland introduced its first products that use Community Cotton fibre – grown in partnership with the Smallholder Farmers Alliance in Haiti, which aims to advance the reforestation of Haiti and improve local farmers’ lives. Since then, Timberland has engaged consultancy Terra Genesis to evolve the Community Cotton programme to include regenerative practices. Timberland also provides funding to help more than 700 cotton farmers in India to transition to regenerative practices.
This caught the judges’ attention: “We need more cotton farmers to transition to [regenerative] practices, so it’s great to see such a big brand giving them that support. Timberland is an exemplar for the rest of the industry.”
