INDUSTRY NEWS

CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif.—Comfort footwear brand Bearpaw is putting its best foot forward when it comes to being green. Not only is the company exploring new ways to use recycled and earth-friendly materials in its footwear, it’s pursuing green methods and practices from the factory to the final sale. Bearpaw has brought in freelance designer Linda Poetsch to create a line of spring/summer footwear incorporating recycled materials as well as cork, bamboo, jute and hemp. This is not only a step forward for the company’s green initiative, but an expansion beyond the brand’s usual fall/winter terrain. “This is an exciting time for us, as we’ve historically been a late Q3 and Q4 brand,” says sales and marketing VP Randy McKinley. “This new line is going to open both consumers’ and retailers’ eyes to the fact that Bearpaw is a year-round brand.”

The brand is also ensuring that the operational side of its business is doing its best environmentally. Product developer Amy Gen Kuong recently returned to the States following a tour of the company’s factories and meetings with factory liaisons to ensure the company’s eco-initiatives are being instituted and make sure they were taking basic green steps such as setting up collection areas for recyclables. The company is also in talks with Sustainable Solutions Corporation to find ways to push its eco-initiatives further and find new ways to reduce its carbon footprint.

In a partnership with Lady Foot Locker, Bearpaw is also inviting consumers to be green as well. When customers buy a pair of Bearpaw boots at the footwear chain, they will receive a card directing them to www.seed-the-future.com/ladyfootlocker . Once at the site, the consumer will become part of a large-scale reforestation project that will help to reduce the effects of global climate change. “This partnership is a perfect fit for both Lady Foot Locker and Bearpaw,” says McKinley. “It falls directly in line with our ‘live life greener’ initiatives.”

These latest green efforts follow Bearpaw’s recent decision to eliminate resin glue from shoe box construction (which is expected to save over 10 tons of glue each year) and tissue paper and cardboard inserts in box stuffing, saving over 40 tons of paper per year.

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