• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 9, 2009

Few marketers have invested as much of their marketing muscle in the environment as has Timberland. And now, the bootmaker is marching on to the highest forum yet on environmental issues: The Stratham, N.H.-based company recently launched a campaign aimed at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change going on in Copenhagen.

Called "Don't tell us it can't be done!," the global campaign and online petition asks for "fair and binding climate legislation," with a limit to greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to in-store advertising, it's also using Twitter and Facebook to get the word out, and says it plans to keep the effort going after the conference ends -- no matter what the results.

We asked Jim Davey, who recently joined Timberland as VP of global marketing, to explain:

Q: Why tackle this particular conference? And why now?

A: The UN Climate Change Conference is the Olympics of climate change. And of course, people need boots in the winter, so the product is relevant as well. It all dovetails so well with our message. I've only been here about three months, and I was shocked at the level of dedication that takes place internally to create eco-friendly products. Special tanneries, limits on chemicals, recycled rubber -- we even put a nutrition label on every product that gives specific environmental information. I thought this was a great story to tell -- you can create great products that are more environmentally friendly if you care enough about it. And they don't have to cost more.

Q: Who is your core audience, both for footwear and this global petition?

A: The Timberland base around the world is tremendously broad -- men, women, older, younger, green, not-so green -- so we like the inclusiveness of the petition. In the U.S., our media target has been men 18 to 34, which is a huge market for us; however, the exposure we're getting is reaching all targets.

Q: You've been very successful at selling consumers on the concrete environmental advantages of your product. From a brand management point of view, is it much harder to talk about messages that aren't linked to products, but corporate behavior, like emission guidelines?

A: We hope our long history of strong environmental stewardship and great green products makes it easier for the consumer to buy into an idea. Whenever we can, we try to make it a two-part communication. The first is an overall message about our green values (for example, that we've reduced carbon emissions by 27% in the last two years). The second plays off that claim with tangible products, where our values come to life. So with Earthkeeper boots, the soles are made of 42% recycled tire rubber -- that's an easy-to-understand visual of our environmental values in action.

Q: Environmentalists would love it if every footwear company followed your lead. But if that happened, you'd lose a competitive advantage. Does that worry you?

A: If everyone would join in, we'd be thrilled. Don't forget -- we're an outdoor company. Without winter, you don't need our brand -- or any other outdoor brand. If people are safeguarding the environment, they're also safeguarding our business, so it's incumbent on us all to figure this out.