Bazsux: Timberland transforms recycled plastic bottles into shoes, bags

2017. március 3., péntek

Timberland transforms recycled plastic bottles into shoes, bags

For its latest collection, Timberland is turning to the bottle—the plastic bottle, that is. The outdoor-wear maker has teamed up with Thread, a Pittsburgh, Penn.-based manufacturer of sustainable fabrics, to transform plastic bottles from the streets and canals of Haiti into a dapper collection of footwear, bags, and T-shirts. The Timberland x Thread collaboration goes "beyond environmental sustainability," according to Timberland. Not only does the partnership turn an ecological blight into a resource but it also creates social value in the form of cleaner neighborhoods and job opportunities for one of the planet's poorest nations.

“The Timberland x Thread collection is incredible proof that style and sustainability can go hand-in-hand,” Colleen Vien, director of sustainability for Timberland, said in a statement. “This collection delivers good with every fiber, not just by recycling plastic bottles that would otherwise end up littering the streets, but also by creating job opportunities and cleaner neighborhoods in Haiti.

"Consumers can feel good about pulling on their Timberland x Thread boots or backpack, and know they are making a positive impact in someone else’s life,” she added

The Timberland x Thread capsule comprises five styles of men's shoes and boots, a duffel bag and a backpack, and one T-shirt. All incorporate Thread's "Ground to Good" fabric, which the certified B Corp. spins in the United States using 50 percent post-consumer recycled polyethylene terephthalate, better known as PET.

Thread says that every yard of fabric can be traced throughout the supply chain, from bottle collection to textile creation and delivery to the manufacturer.

The "bottle to boot" process employs more than 1,300 bottle collectors, entrepreneurs, and manufacturing employees in Haiti alone.

“At Thread, we believe that dignified jobs cure poverty—and our fabric creates those jobs,” said Ian Rosenberger, founder and CEO of Thread. “Our partnership with Timberland marks a seismic shift in the fashion industry, combining Timberland’s large supply chain and loyal customer base with Thread’s responsible, transparent approach to creating premium fabrics and vital jobs in the developing world. The Timberland x Thread collection is a major step towards improving the way our clothes are made.”