Timberland transforms recycled plastic bottles into shoes, bags

For its latest collection, Timberland is turning to the bottle–the plastic bottle, that is. The outdoor-wear maker has teamed up with Thread, a Pittsburgh, Penn.-based manufacturer of sustainable fabrics, to transform plastic bottles from the streets and canals of Haiti into a dapper collection of footwear, bags, and T-shirts. The Timberland x Thread collaboration goes "beyond environmental sustainability," according to Timberland. Not only does the partnership turn an ecological blight into a resource but it also creates social value in the form of cleaner neighborhoods and job opportunities for one of the planet’s poorest nations.

by Jasmin Malik Chua

Timberland transforms recycled plastic bottles into shoes, bags