Uncategorized

From the recent 2008 Ceres conference, here’s a candid (and we think compelling) conversation between Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz and Stonyfield CEO Gary Hirshberg about the environmental, social and financial benefits of sustainability on their respective companies. Our thanks to the folks at Ceres for making this video available.

Click here to see more video: http://www.ceres.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=901&srcid=661

Some people follow celebrity gossip in tabloids.  Some people look to hang with jet-setters, the taste-makers, the athletes, the musicians. That’s all cool…  But I’ve always sought out those amazing individuals who take a stand to solve the world’s “unsolvable” problems — be it bringing clean water to Africa, taking on dictatorships in hostile countries most people could care less about (accept those living there, of course), getting their hands and boots dirty to clean-up after a natural disaster, or bringing a cool approach to solving the climate crisis.

I never knew what to call these people until one day I met the most extraordinary “Change Agent” hanging out in a bar I was in and toting around his Mac to show pics of his recent trip aboard a “surgery ship” in West Africa.  We built Changents for him and the thousands like him around the world who are magnets for “fans” like me who want to jump on their team and change the world.  Yes, I know it sounds a bit wonky, but it’s true.

Changents is not about “go hug a tree” or “chain yourself to a bulldozer” – unless, of course, you have the time and inclination do that.  We don’t.  Actually, there are plenty of places for people to gripe about things or talk about things. Instead, we are the place where ordinary people can team up with extraordinary Change Agents from around the world to advance the change revolution together. We’re all about entertainment and attitude where real people take real action.  You can check the kumbaya at the door, please!

We met Timberland about six months ago and they had us at hello. Their commitment to walking the talk is what we’re all about and so we’ve partnered to bring you Earthkeepers.  You’ll have a chance to follow and interact with five extraordinary Change Agents, dubbed, “Earthkeeper Heroes.” They include: The Big Green Bus (12 Dartmouth University students crisscrossing the country this summer in a tricked-out Harvester school bus converted to run on waste vegetable oil); The Canary Project (an artist couple conveying the story of human-induced climate change and potential solutions through visual media, events and artwork); Agent 350 (a recent college grad and his scrappy team in a mad-dash sprint to build a global, online/offline climate action movement from scratch); Reverb (a group of rock and roll road warriors greening the summer concert tours of the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer and Maroon 5/Counting Crows while engaging fans around environmental sustainability); and POWERleaper (digests from a 23-year old designtrepeneur who has created the blue print for urban flooring systems that generate electricity from human foot traffic).  In addition, you can participate in the Earthkeeper Heroes contest by nominating yourself or someone else to compete for a chance to join the ranks of this amazing group.

If you got what it takes, join us at changents.com/earthkeepers!

Deron Triff

CEO & Co-Founder

Changents

The Big Green Bus
If you’re on the road and hear the sounds of a ukulele gently wafting out the windows of a tricked-out, green Harvester school bus, close behind you’ll see us – a group of 12 college students rocking and rolling across the country this summer out to educate the world about alternative fuels. Read More

Reverb
How Green is Your Guitar? I’m Adam Gardner and as a co-founder of Reverb and member of the band Guster, I can say mine is pretty green.

I have a custom-made, eco-friendly First Act guitar made of salvaged hardware and electronics, using a finish and glue with lower toxic emissions and wood harvested from environmentally certified lumber firms. Yep, pretty green. Read More

POWERleap
I’m Elizabeth Redmond- your designtrepreneur (a term my friend and colleague Joe coined meaning designer, entrepreneur, and allow me to add, inventor). Back in 2005 during my BFA thesis work at the University of Michigan, I set out to design interfaces that generate electricity from the human body. Now, two and a half years later, I’m working around the clock to turn the alternative energy paradigm on its head through my brainchild I call POWERleap — a flooring system destined for high foot- traffic urban areas that generates electricity via human footfall. Think 5th Avenue powered by the stampede of shoppers! Read More

The Canary Project
First of all there is a rule and all sensible people follow it:  don’t work with your spouse.  We are not very sensible.

I am Ed Morris, and I used to be a partner in a private investigative firm.  No, I did not carry a gun.  In fact, for the past two years I worked hard on litigation aimed at stemming the flow of illegal guns into our cities.  My client was Mayor Bloomberg’s office here in New York.  I have worked on other investigations such as the impeachment hearings of former Connecticut Governor John Rowland, anti-trust lawsuits and an arson and cover up involving millions of dollars of false inventory. Now I produce artworks about climate change with my wife.  Strange how life is. Read More

Agent 350
Three hundred and fifty is something we all eat, sleep, live and literally breathe.  You may not know it yet, but 350 is going to become the most important, talked about number on the planet.  At least that’s the plan. Read More

Truth is, the debate about global warming isn’t very interesting to us.  Either the earth we share as a common platform for our daily living is right on the edge of climate extinction, or the physical environment we live in is merely being taxed hard by pollution and consumption and carbon emissions. Either way the scientists and policy makers argue it, it seems to us that there is very little downside in behaving responsibly in an environmental sense.  As a for-profit business, switching from high-energy consumption light bulbs to low-energy light bulbs seems painfully obvious.  Let the elites argue–in the meanwhile, we changed our light bulbs.  Lower carbon emissions, lower energy costs.  Hmm.

Same simple logic when it comes to manufacturing our products; using recycled rubber from automobile tires to make soles for our boots appeals to common sense and consumers simultaneously.  Car tires make for landfill disasters; turning waste into resource appeals to the New England ethic in us.  We save money (seen the cost of petroleum-based ingredients recently?) and make durable, beautiful boots.  Hmm.

Listening to the “experts” on both sides of the debate invited us to imagine another kind of discourse–instead of a debate, imagine a community of Earthkeepers, normal citizens who want to preserve the physical beauty of our world, not by spiking trees or parading naked in Times Square, but simply by doing small, accessible, day-to-day acts of common sense and common goodness.  What if we could invite a community to share information and inspiration around the practical notion of preserving the environment?  Earthkeeping–not radical, not political, not competing theories–just a belief that nothing is more powerful than an engaged citizen.

Earthkeepers was borne out of some passionate product designers here who set out to build a beautiful boot, using recyclable and renewable materials and thoughtful choices in the manufacturing process.  Not a “green boot;” they set out to build a beautiful, useful, commercial product, thoughtfully and responsibly.  And as imperfect as the outcome was and is, the response we got from consumers around the world was very powerful.  People liked the product, and they told us they appreciated the environmentally-conscious intent behind it.  They challenged us to go further, and they had suggestions.

It is this engaged conversation with citizens that inspires us to imagine developing an Earthkeepers community.  Imagine a forum where citizens can share information and inspiration around “earthkeeping.”  Imagine a group of diverse people who share energy and interest in the notion of protecting our planet, in the ordinary course of living their daily lives.

So, here goes– Earthkeepers.  That you have come this far to visit is in itself encouraging.  Write a post–share your question, push your agenda, teach us about earthkeeping from your corner of this precious world.  Could be a very cool conversation, and more–could be a way to translate lots of passionate talk into practical action, to benefit the world we all share in common.

We’ll see.

Welcome to Earthkeepers.

Jeff Swartz,

President and CEO, Timberland

A Nutritional Label—for Shoes

More and more, today’s consumers want to know what kind of environmental footprint is being left by the products they buy. In 2006, Timberland began putting that information on 30 million footwear boxes: by placing a “nutritional label” on every box to educate consumers about the product. Where it was manufactured. How it was produced. And its effect on the environment. To create the label, three critical areas are highlighted. Information about the manufacturing plant. The impact of manufacturing on the climate. And the impact on the community, including such factors as the number of hours of volunteer service performed by Timberland employees to “Make it better” in the community. We’re also putting a message inside the box asking consumers to consider what kind of footprint they themselves are leaving and encouraging them to become proactive in the effort to protect our planet. Under this initiative, footwear boxes are also crafted from 100% post-consumer recycled waste fiber, using no chemical glues. Only soy-based inks are used to print the labels, which are the first of their kind in the industry.

The First Step

So far, public reaction has been positive. But, as the Chinese proverb states, Read the rest of this entry »

We just heard from our colleagues in Italy regarding their Earth Day activities and had to share their story:
A very early start the one of timberland earth day in april 22. the meeting point was timberland office at 7.45am where we collected all the instruments for work: pickaxe, shovel, sickle, baskets, shear, rakes, gloves and the unfailing yellow boots!! all wearing our timberland earth day t-shirt we left for casei gerola, an exploited area 40km from milan. Our commitment this time was to clear the area from rubbish, dry and infesting vegetation, prepare the soil for greening and plantation, fix dustbins, resting benches and picnic tables as to rend the area available and welcoming to people to enjoy. The day was cloudy, the soil was hard and roads muddy but we were so full of enthusiasm that nothing could stop us. We worked till 5pm when exhausted we left, but not without taking a picture of the whole team and resting on the benches we had just fixed…just to be sure to did a proper job Partner of the day: legambiente, the most widespread environmental organization in italy counting more than 110.000 members. A powerful partner able to add more value to our effort. Media were stimulated for the day: we had some newspapers’ dedicated articles, some quotations and a whole national TV troupe coming on the spot filming our work and interviewing us as a living proof of a better world, where brands that can make it better exist!

This Earth Day, Timberland announced a global commitment to green 300 communities in the next two years, and to plant one million trees by 2010. Timberland hopes to inspire and engage one million Earthkeepers. Click below to hear Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz describe his vision of what it means to be an EarthKeeper and see how EarthKeepers are making a difference.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Timberland Earth Day event with Sustainable South Bronx yesterday! Here’s Timberland CEO, Jeff Swartz getting down and dirty and planting a tree.

Check out the coverage here and watch video of the event below:

On April 22, we’ll be in the Bronx re-greening the space shown below. To learn more, RSVP through Facebook!

We discovered this video on YouTube. What’s your take? We’re all for planting trees, but is this the right way to do it? Of course, these trees will likely be removed and the sidewalk paved over. Is the public awareness that is generated worth the effort (and worth one tree that will end up as woodchips?)

Are Your Shoes Green?

Source: Environmental Graffiti

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/green-living/are-your-shoes-green/1021

Dell HQ Powered by Wind and Landfill Energy

Source: Sattler Clothing

http://sattlerclothing.com/blog/2008/04/07/green-business-%E2%80%93-dell-hq-powered-by-wind-and-landfill-energy/

Marriott’s Tree Huggers

Source: Marc Gunther

http://www.marcgunther.com/?p=350

Defining the $520 Billion Buying Power Fueling Eco-Fashion

Source: The Lohasian

http://www.thelohasian.com/