
In the late 1970s, Timberland added casual and boat shoes to its product line. In the 1980s, Timberland made its foray into the global marketplace, beginning in Italy. During that decade the company also introduced its clothing line and women's footwear. Now Timberland products are sold in the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.It was in 1989, though, when Timberland embarked on a mission it would later define as part of the underlying belief system known as CSR¡ªcorporate social responsibility. That was the year Timberland became a founding sponsor of City Year, the Boston-based "urban Peace Corps" that brings together young people from diverse backgrounds for a year of full-time community service. Timberland's involvement with City Year continues to this day. City Year is only one example of the company's commitment to social service. Timberland's CSR program spans four core values: global human rights, environmental stewardship, community involvement, and employees. The company's 2005 CSR Report shows Timberland's "key performance indicators" for all four of these areas. It is a frank, unvarnished assessment of what Timberland is doing well, and what it could be doing better, to meet its ambitious CSR goals. In the area of environmental stewardship, for example, Timberland measures its impact on climate change, resources, and renewable energy. In the area of community involvement, Timberland has become a corporate innovator with its "Path of Service" program, which began in the 1990s. Path of Service gives Timberland employees 40 hours of paid time off to serve in their communities. The company says its employees have invested more than 278,000 hours in community service. Just as significant is Timberland's relationship with its employees. The 2005 CSR Report indicates that 77 percent of employees are satisfied with their position at Timberland.While other companies may preach social responsibility, Timberland lives it day in and day out. Timberland supported a dedicated team of employees in taking action on the crisis in Darfur, Sudan; the employees designed a special "Stomp Out Genocide" boot and developed a t-shirt and hang tag to generate awareness and raise funds for Darfur. Timberland recently pioneered a "nutrition label," which it puts on every shoebox, to show the consumer exactly what goes into making a Timberland product. The label lists the environmental impact, the community impact (including a child labor percentage, which is always zero percent), and where the product was manufactured.
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