Old Tyres to Tread in Timberland Shoes

Footwear manufacturer Timberland has teamed up with Green Rubber to launch two new collections featuring outsoles made using recycled rubber from discarded tyres. These outsoles will contain a 50/50 blend of Green Rubber compound and virgin rubber compound, the blend of the two materials necessary in order to maintain the durability and performance characteristics Timberland footwear is known for.

“We are facing an unpublicised epidemic with 1.3 billion tyres being disposed in landfills every year, leading to water pollution and breeding grounds for disease-carrying insects,” said Datuk Vinod Sekhar, Green Rubber CEO and founder. “With Green Rubber’s patented and environmentally friendly technology we can start to make a real dent in the mountains of tyres creating an environmental blight on the planet.”

Timberland is the first footwear manufacturer to commercialise Green Rubber technology, and is incorporating it into two of the company’s autumn 2009 collections. “We are thrilled to partner with Green Rubber to support this innovative company’s efforts towards making rubber a more sustainable resource with a lighter environmental footprint,” said Jeff Swartz, Timberland CEO. “Green Rubber is positioned to have a major impact on the global rubber industry; managing tyre waste can now become both a commercially viable and environmentally friendly process.

“This partnership brings together two like-minded organisations with a common goal of connecting successful commerce to environmental responsibility,” Swartz added. “This is a great opportunity for Timberland to share its commitment to “Earthkeeping” – offering products with a lighter footprint while inspiring a movement of one million Earthkeepers interested in environmental behaviour change.”

A recent study by environmental engineering firm Malcolm Pirnie Inc. showed that using five kilograms of recycled rubber instead of virgin rubber prevents approximately the same amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere. In addition, the consumption of oil falls by four litres. By 2012, Green Rubber intends use its de-vulcanisation process to recycle the equivalent of more than 200 million discarded tyres every year. The company is about to launch an expansion programme as it looks to open new manufacturing plants for its rubber compound in the Americas, the Middle East, Asia and Europe. (Tyres & Accessories/Staffordshire, U.K.)

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has named Ryan Waldron as president of the company's Americas business unit, reporting to Chief Executive Officer and President Mark Stewart. He succeeds Steven R. McClellan, who retired on April 1.

"At Goodyear, our customers are at the center of everything we do, and in Ryan Waldron, we have a customer-centric, execution-focused business leader with a deep understanding of both the marketplace and all aspects of our business, as well as a proven track record of delivering results," Stewart said. "I am thrilled to announce him as president of Goodyear's Americas business and have enormous confidence that under his leadership, both the company and our customers will reach even greater levels of success."