Timberland Partners with Thread to Create Sustainable Recycling Solutions in Haiti as Part of Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action
On September 21, global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland revealed at the 2016 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting that the company will join HP, Team Tassy, and ACOP (Association des Collecteurs des Objets en Plastique) in supporting Thread International’s commitment to create new opportunities for econmic growth in communities that surround the Truitier landfill in Haiti. The three-year effort will improve living conditions and empower Haitian families, including children, through sustainable solutions.
Many local Haitian families rely on collecting and recycling plastic waste as their only source of income, which leaves them with the difficult decision to call on their children to contribute to the family’s security and safety. This CGI commitment will help improve the working conditions and upward mobility of some 300 Haitians – around 200 of them children -- who risk their health and well-being to collect recyclable waste from Haiti’s Truitier landfill each day. With the support of Timberland and other partners, Thread aims to specifically address these challenges by equipping and empowering the people of these communities to live a more prosperous life.
“We are honored to contribute to this important work being spearheaded by Thread,” said Colleen Vien, director of sustainability for Timberland. “Thread is looking beyond the environmental value associated with the collection and recycling of plastic bottles, and digging into some of the very real social implications. This progressive approach has the potential to truly change the face of global supply chains in the circular economy.”
The initiative will invest over $300,000 in entrepreneurs, microenterprises and small-to-medium businesses. The partnership provides children in this region with more than 200 scholarships and other educational opportunities, and also full physical exams with health and safety trainings. Haiti is not the only country that currently faces a large child labor problem, and the effort will serve as a model to create similar programs in locations across the world.
This Commitment to Action is a continuation of Timberland’s existing partnership with Thread. Earlier this year, Timberland announced that it will source materials from the recycled waste collection system in Haiti, launching a spring 2017 collection of shoes and bags made with Thread Ground to GoodTM fabric.
Timberland’s commitment also comes following the conclusion and success of the company’s 2010 CGI commitment to help reforest Haiti by planting five million trees in five years. To learn more about Timberland’s previous CGI commitment, download or rent the documentary “KOMBIT: The Cooperative,” or for the latest news on Timberland’s commitment to innovate and operate in a responsible manner, visit https://www.timberland.com/responsibility.html.
