Thailand playing key role in turning Timberland green

Thailand will help turn Timberland, Vans and The North Face green as an American company manufacturing in the Kingdom will supply the American brands with rubber grown using regenerative agriculture.

Regenerative agriculture is a set of practices used by Thai farmers and others to bring agriculture back in harmony with nature and do less damage to the environment. It seeks to regenerate topsoil, increase biodiversity, sequester carbon, and make farming more resilient to climate change.

VF Corporation, which owns the three popular brands, said that Timberland is planning to unveil a regenerative rubber product collection in 2023. The rubber will be used chiefly in footwear, and the system would be open to supplying other brands once Timberland’s needs have been met, a Timberland executive said.

The brands will use rubber supplied by Terra Genesis International, an Idaho-based company that designs agricultural systems for sustainability and to address climate change and social issues.

The company is working in countries on six continents. In Thailand, it is working with rubber plantations. The Kingdom is one of the top three rubber producers in the world.

It includes avoiding the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, rotating and diversifying crops, growing organically, and recycling farm waste, among others. Both small and large farms can adopt regenerative agricultural methods.

“At Timberland, we strive for a greener and more equitable future, and investing in regenerative agriculture is one of the most powerful levers we have to achieve this vision,” said Timberland’s senior manager of environmental stewardship Zack Angelini.

“We are excited about the progress we’re making to source our top volume materials in a way that supports the farmers and ranchers working to reverse environmental degradation and create a world that is more abundant, more resilient and even more beautiful than it is today,” Angelini said.

Photo courtesy of https://thainews.prd.go.th/