Timberland celebrates launch of recycled footwear capsule with Dubai installation

By

Robin Driver

Published
May 9, 2019

In the run-up to the release of its latest ReBotl shoes capsule, American outerwear and footwear brand Timberland has announced an artistic collaboration with Middle Eastern sustainability pioneer Bee’ah to highlight the problem of plastic pollution in the UAE.

 
Each style in the ReBotl men’s capsule collection – which offers three oxford styles, a chukka and an alpine boot – is made from between six and ten recycled plastic bottles. The shoes combine breathable Recycled Knit technology with recycled plastic outsoles.
 
Ahead of the collection’s launch, Timberland teamed up with Emirati environmental management company Bee’ah to challenge four Dubai-based influencers – comedian Bin Baz, model Omar Borkan Al Gala, French fitness influencer Zoe Andersen and DJ Bliss – to collect the plastic waste they accumulated over the course of a week and document their journeys on social media.

Their plastic waste was then transformed into an installation exhibited on Dubai’s Al Serkal Avenue with the aim of raising public awareness about the need to reduce plastic use.

Timberland, which is distributed in the Middle East by Gulf Marketing Group via a network of more than 25 stores in the UAE, KSA, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, is also working with Bee’ah to encourage the UAE to join the #PledgeNoPlastic movement.

The brand’s ReBotl capsule and activation in the Middle East are part of its wider commitment to sustainability. In its 2018 corporate responsibility report, released at the end of last month, Timberland gave updates on its progress towards its sustainability goals, highlighting in particular that it had reached its target to plant 10 million trees by 2020 two years early.
 
The brand also pointed out that in 2018, 75% of the cotton used in its products came from organic, US-origin or Better Cotton Initiative-certified sources, while 99% of its footwear leather was sourced from tanneries rated gold or silver for environmental best practice by the Leather Working Group.
 
69% of all footwear shipped by Timberland over the course of the year also contained major components made of at least 10% recycled, organic or renewable materials.
 
“We’re very pleased with the progress we made in 2018, and hitting our tree planting goal two years early,” said Jim Pisani, Timberland’s global brand president, in a release. “But that doesn’t mean we’ll rest on our laurels. In fact, it only energizes us to think about how we can make an even bigger positive impact in the future.”
 
Timberland’s parent company VF Corporation is also well known for its environmental commitments, having recently signed the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change.