Timberland is continually building on its commitment to a circular design process, aiming for complete circularity by the year 2030. As the brand’s first-ever global creative director, Christopher Raeburn stands at the helm of this vision. After founding his synonymous brand RÆBURN in 2008 with the principles of innovation and sustainability at the fore, a creative kinship was formed when he was approached by Timberland.

Now five years into his partnership with the American brand, Raeburn has released a collaboration refashioning Timberland’s classic Earthkeeper boot (originally developed in 2007 with the goal of creating the most responsible product possible – with constant development and improvement). Combining the design aesthetic of his own label with Timberland’s circularity-driven production process, the collection is another step in the right direction towards a greener future. Not exclusive to just footwear, the same principles have been used across apparel, offering a fully sustainable wardrobe inspired by utilitarian workwear, including cargo pants and sherpa fleeces. Challenging traditional production methods, Raeburn hopes to act as a “pathfinder” not just for Timberland but for the industry on a global scale.

Ella Joyce: You’ve been working with Timberland for nearly five years, can you tell us about your journey with the brand?
Christopher Raeburn: My journey into Timberland actually started with an apparel collaboration. I was invited to visit the headquarters in a place called Stabio, on the border of Switzerland and Italy, it’s an amazing set-up. Starting with apparel is something I’m so grateful for because they really took the time to understand the way I work and where I could bring value. Importantly, it gave me an opportunity to meet the teams and understand how the brand works, which I think is really important in terms of sharing values and making sure things are developing in the right way. I was then fortunate to go to the US and visit the headquarters where the footwear division is based. Once you’re in New Hampshire, you completely get the brand straight away. You notice the sense of adventure, the love of the outdoors, the functionality and everything else. I was pretty smitten, to use a very English word, I just thought it was incredible. I knew my own approach to design and its functional aspect, but then mixing it with Timberland, it’s great to see how we can reduce our impact on the environment with everything linked together. It felt really organic.

“I’ve always been fascinated by how you can make a difference on a global scale.”

EJ: How do you feel the rest of the industry is changing and adapting to work with sustainability in mind? Have you felt a shift?
CR: With Timberland, specifically, it’s easy to forget they have a tree as their logo because it’s such an iconic logo. But it’s perfect because when I first started to visit the teams and meet the people behind the brand, I joked at the time it was as if people had green blood because they were incredibly focused, energised and experienced around sustainability and responsibility. So actually, it was a two-way thing where I was learning a great deal, as well as hopefully bringing a great deal. In the last five years, we’ve absolutely seen the narrative change around sustainability in the industry as a whole. Partially because of Covid, which accelerated us all waking up to the reality of the world we live in and in tandem with that, there’s been a real acceleration around innovation.

Things like regenerative materials have become a lot more accessible, plus the narrative and vocabulary have become a lot more understandable. So we’re now truly in a position where there’s a push and pull for the first time, which we hadn’t really had before. Brands were actually able to build better products and importantly, customers are looking for them. I don’t think we had that five years ago, it’s really exciting to think what the future will look like because I think the next ten years for our industry will be really, really telling. We’ve got an opportunity to change things to be a lot more positive.

EJ: You’re exploring various routes within eco-innovative product design from product recyclability to open-sourced projects, can you tell us about how these processes come to fruition in the clothes we see today?
CR: For Timberland, the big focus is around circularity. So what can we actually do to build a product, to begin with, and then keep that thing in circulation? For example, something made from recycled PVC you can then recycle again. The more you can do to keep something in circulation is fantastic. Another big one at Timberland is using a lot of natural materials, such as leather, cotton, and rubber, which traditionally can be quite attritional to the environment. Cattle farming tends to put a lot of carbon into the atmosphere, but not if you work in a regenerative way. The really good news is this is just common sense, it’s going back to the old ways of doing things, moving cattle in such a way which becomes a carbon sink, rather than putting a lot into the environment. It’s pretty exciting to think you’re making something from natural materials, which in the longer term could actually have a net positive impact on the environment. We’re not for a minute saying all of this is perfect just yet, but that’s what this is moving towards. Keep things in circulation for as long as you can and make things naturally, so in theory one day they could even go back to the ground. That’s what this is all about.

“we’re now truly in a position where there’s a push and pull for the first time…”

EJ: Those principles are at the core of your Earthkeepers collaboration. What’s the inspiration behind that and where did the design process begin?
CR: I studied at the Royal College of Art in London, I graduated back in 2006 and a year later, Timberland released the first Earthkeeper boots. At the time, it was produced in the most environmentally sound way and I remember being a young designer thinking, “Wow, okay. This is really progressive and inspiring for brands thinking that much about the future at this stage.” Jumping forward fifteen years, to be in a position where now Earthkeepers by Raeburn is really a pathfinder for Timberland is a real honour. Our role is to challenge the current zeitgeist and do things, not just Timberland, but the industry as a whole can learn from. Then because it’s a Raeburn collaboration, it’s about how we can bring our aesthetic, and we’re driven by the remade concept.

This season, it’s been about taking these amazing anti-gravity trousers from the Royal Air Force here in the UK, completely deconstructing them and making them into a proper remade boot, which we did with the team in the US. From there, there’s a next step where the product is commercialised, but always with a philosophy of designing for disassembly. We’re always thinking about what happens down the line, and in short, we’ve made it where the above section of the shoe is then fully recycled, we’ve got a leather section and we’ve got an actual rubber section. They can all be completely taken apart in the end. There’s even the option to replace elements, rather than having to think about replacing a whole boot. There’s a single stitch line that goes around the top of the sole and then on the inside, you can just take out the footbed, snip a layer, and then it will come out – it really is that simple. You’re then able to break apart the different sections. We’ve used the same approach on the apparel as well, you’ll see zips that have been laid on the top of garments which you can deconstruct. It’s all been designed to think, “OK, what does happen next?”

EJ: How would you say Earthkeepers works towards Timberland’s overall vision of the circularity they’re aiming for?
CR: I think it’s a really good example of how you can bring together a really exciting design aesthetic with genuine innovation and a real move towards circularity. Ultimately, by 2030 we are looking to design all products thinking about what happens next, and move towards circularity. We’re currently eight years from that goal and it’s really interesting to think about what the learnings will be from this. What has or hasn’t worked? And then how can we scale from there? I think that’s what it’s all about. This idea of being a pathfinder for the brand is a really good example of how things can work. It’s easy to forget Timberland make really good quality products. It’s amazing how many people have told me over the years, “I’ve got a pair of Tims I’ve had for fifteen or twenty years.” People don’t talk about longevity enough, it’s about making really good quality products to begin with.

EJ: Would you say it’s somewhat easier to tap into the idea of sustainability within the outdoor or sportswear market?
CR: You’ve naturally often got a community that is appreciative of nature and already wants to reduce the impacts within it. But for me, I’ve always looked at it the other way. I think as a designer, this is a design-led obligation, our role is to make really good choices and bring them into a product that already looks amazing. It’s not necessarily about getting on a soapbox and saying, “Well, this is sustainable.” If you have a product that’s already really well designed and really well considered, you’re already more than 50 per cent there with a potential customer. Our business has always been built on healthy challenges, it might potentially be easier to build this conversation solely in an outdoor environment, but I think it’s more valuable to be having conversations in other parts of the industry.

EJ: Timberland is approaching its 50th anniversary, how does it feel to have contributed to such a milestone?
CR: It is really interesting to see how products like these and others within the range are already starting to manifest because it’s an amazing thing to work alongside a company with such a legacy. As you come into a major birthday like this, it’s exciting to know you’ve been part of that timeline in different ways. Raeburn’s been within five years of the company’s journey, but I’d like to think we’ve also been able to provide some really interesting products and importantly, provoke some really good conversations, both internally and externally. That’s what I’m most proud of. To be a creative catalyst for a brand like Timberland is a real honour.

Shop the Earthkeepers x Raeburn collection here.