Shoe Label Rates Eco-Impact:

Timberland aims to put product-specific information about environmental impact on all it’s shoes by 2010. The Green Index rating uses a scale from 0 (the best) to 10 (the worst) to assess footwear for climate impact, chemical use and resource consumption.

According to the company’s corporate social responsibility report 2006, it is hoped that consumers will know what they are putting on their feet. The Green Index rating will be carried on a select line of Greenscape shoes this year.

It was unveiled last January at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Utah, USA, and helped Timberland win the Backpacker Editor’s Choice Green Award for innovation in green product development.

Last year, the company began to put an environmental label on 30 million footwear boxes to inform consumers about where the product was manufactured, how it was produced and what effect it had on the environment. It is now placing a message inside boxes asking consumers to consider what kind of footprint they are leaving and encouraging them to take practical steps in an effort to protect the planet.

Under this initiative, the boxes are also said to be crafted from 100% post-consumer recycled waste fibre while soy-based inks are used to print the labels.

To read about Timberland’s Carbon Neutral Target, a story which was featured in the August issue of IMPACT Magazine, please check back next week!

Article taken from IMPACT – Issue 1 [June 2007]

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IMPACT is an online magazine that covers environment and ethics in textile sourcing.
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