Timberloop

Timberloop circular footwear / Source: Timberland

EuropeNorth AmericaOceaniaRubberTextiles

5 MINUTE READ

Sophie Benson

WHAT WE SAY:

The end-of-life for shoes is typically a disaster, as they feature lots of different – and usually synthetic – materials. Which is why (other than its use of recycled plastics) we’re excited about Timberland’s circularity initiative, Timberloop.

It’s an ambitious attempt to prove that another way is possible, both by recycling what exists today and, more importantly, by designing its products to have recyclability built in from the start. It shows how the future begins when product design and new systems meet.

KEY FACTS:

Launched in April 2022, Timberloop is a series of circular initiatives, where the US-based brand will repair and resell or recycle used footwear, apparel and accessories.
Prices for refurbished products sold on the Timberloop platform range from 40-60% less than equivalent new items.
Alongside this, the Timberloop Trekker City is the brand’s first shoe that’s designed with circularity in mind, featuring a removable inner liner that ensures the outsole is easily detachable for recycling.

Timberloop circular footwear / Source: Timberland

Timberloop circular footwear with illustration of deconstruction / Source: Timberland

DIVE DEEPER:

Everyday, 66 million pairs of shoes are produced – 24.2 billion pairs per year. Yet an estimated 90% of them are not recycled because they typically contain multiple materials stitched, glued and woven together in hugely complex designs.
Furthermore, the shoe industry is built on synthetic materials – of the world’s footwear exports, nearly half (47%) are made of plastic or rubber. The wider picture is similar – around 70% of all Rubber used in manufacturing is now synthetic rather than natural, and 69% of all fibres produced each year are synthetic.
The Timberloop platform is part of the brand’s vision to move towards being net positive by 2030, with 100% of its products designed for circularity and with 100% of its natural materials sourced from producers using regenerative agricultural practices.
Timberland customers can drop off used products in store or ship them for free in return for a 10% discount.
Once received, products are evaluated by Timberland’s recycling partner, ReCircled. Those which are still wearable are repaired, cleaned using a waterless cleaning technology where possible and resold; those beyond repair are dismantled and disassembled, and sent to specialised recyclers.
Customers are able to track whether their returned products were repaired and resold, or disassembled and recycled.
ReCircled describes itself as being the “infrastructure for fashion in the circular economy”, and currently has locations in Nebraska and Colorado in the US, and Prato in Italy. Its Nebraska factory is 800,000 square feet and the two-year-old company works with over 50 brands, including outdoor brand Merrell.
To reduce dismantling time, increase recycling efficiency, and progress Timberland’s circularity goals, the brand also launched its Timberloop Trekker City alongside the Timberloop platform. The entire outsole of the boot can be removed by cutting a single seam, allowing for easy re-soling and, eventually, easy dismantling and recycling. The removable inner bootie, secured through the lace system, is made from ReBOTL (yes, the ubiquitous recycled plastic bottle curse strikes again), and each part of the shoe can be put into a separate recycling stream.
The ultimate goal of Timberloop is for materials which are recycled as part of the programme to be reused in Timberland products. The brand hasn’t reached that point yet, with some materials being mechanically downcycled into insulation.
The Timberloop platform launched in the US, with the brand planning to roll it out to European markets and Asia later in 2022 (although this hasn’t happened at the time of writing).

"The goal of Timberloop is for materials which are recycled as part of the programme to be reused in Timberland products."

Timberland

Key Design Considerations:

Circularity

While the ambition is great, there’s little detail about what happens to components and materials that ReCircled disassemble, beyond them being ‘sent to recycling partners’. Who are these partners? What happens to materials that can’t be disassembled into recyclable components? Also, where will your recycling take place? ReCircled aims to have local facilities that can serve local markets, but there will be trade-offs between scale, efficiency and emissions that you should consider.

Recycled plastic is not sustainable

As designers, we have a responsibility to create things that have a genuinely positive impact. Recycling plastic bottles into apparel doesn’t – plastic continues to shed microplastics, isn’t a long-term circular material, and it legitimises and perpetuates the existing broken model. Please don’t think that using recycled plastic is ‘sustainable’. It isn’t.

Other end-of-life options

One key principle of the circular economy is to circulate products and materials at their highest value. If an item cannot be repaired in its original form, you should consider whether it is more valuable as a material than a recycled fibre. Cecilie Bahsen’s Encore collection, Collina Strada’s collaboration with The Or Foundation and Duran Lantink’s collection for Browns demonstrate the value to be found in repurposed, rather than recycled, fabrics.

Recycled materials ease supply chain issues

Raw natural materials are being squeezed and will likely be harder to source and more expensive in future. Recycled materials could provide valuable feedstock for manufacturing.

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Timberloop

WHAT WE SAY:

The end-of-life for shoes is typically a disaster, as they feature lots of different – and usually synthetic – materials. Which is why (other than its use of recycled plastics) we’re excited about Timberland’s circularity initiative, Timberloop.

KEY FACTS:

DIVE DEEPER:

Everyday, 66 million pairs of shoes are produced – 24.2 billion pairs per year. Yet an estimated 90% of them are not recycled because they typically contain multiple materials stitched, glued and woven together in hugely complex designs.

The Timberloop platform is part of the brand’s vision to move towards being net positive by 2030, with 100% of its products designed for circularity and with 100% of its natural materials sourced from producers using regenerative agricultural practices.

Timberland customers can drop off used products in store or ship them for free in return for a 10% discount.

Once received, products are evaluated by Timberland’s recycling partner, ReCircled. Those which are still wearable are repaired, cleaned using a waterless cleaning technology where possible and resold; those beyond repair are dismantled and disassembled, and sent to specialised recyclers.

Customers are able to track whether their returned products were repaired and resold, or disassembled and recycled.

The ultimate goal of Timberloop is for materials which are recycled as part of the programme to be reused in Timberland products. The brand hasn’t reached that point yet, with some materials being mechanically downcycled into insulation.

The Timberloop platform launched in the US, with the brand planning to roll it out to European markets and Asia later in 2022 (although this hasn’t happened at the time of writing).