6/24/2010

THE TIMBERLAND COMPANY USING ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY LANDSCAPING TO UPGRADE HEADQUARTERS

INVASIVE SPECIES REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH NATIVE PERENNIALS; VICTORY GARDEN EXPANDED

STRATHAM, NH (June 24, 2010) – With the awareness that a commitment to the environment begins at home, The Timberland Company announces the start of significant improvements to the landscaping of their Stratham headquarters. The improvements will include replacing much of the existing landscape vegetation and expanding the popular 'Victory Garden,' started in 2008.

According to Douglas Cygan, the Invasive Species Coordinator for the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food (DAMF), three of the plant species commonly found in landscaping have proven to be so invasive, they negatively affect our state’s natural environment. Their aggressive nature can suppress and prevent native species from growing, thus hindering natural diversity -- an environmental issue many people aren’t aware of. In 2007, Burning Bush, Norway Maple, and Japanese Barberry, among several other upland plants, were listed as “prohibited invasive species” by the DAMF.

Timberland will remove all listed invasive species at its headquarters (primarily Norway Maple and Burning Bush) and replace them with drought tolerant perennials and native species. In addition, repurposed roof rock material (left over from a previous building renovation project) will be used to line the perimeter of buildings where invasive vegetation is removed.

In an expansion of its corporate Victory Garden, Timberland will replace many of the plants at its front entrance with low maintenance, pesticide-free fruit trees (peach and pear) as well as more than 80 blueberry bushes.

Since the inception of their Victory Garden in 2008, Timberland employees have used their company-paid community service hours to harvest more than 2,000 pounds of produce which is then sold to the internal Timberland community. To date, this effort has translated into more than $3,000 to the New Hampshire Food Bank. The planned expansion of the Victory Garden (nearly 2,000 square feet of vegetable gardens currently) will more than double in size, allowing for greater production of fruits and vegetables and leading to increased donations to the food bank.

“We’re excited that our Victory Garden has been so successful in its first few years, and looking forward to expanding our effort and our impact,” said Ann Caron, chairperson of Timberland’s Garden Committee. “It’s truly a win-win: we’re feeding our own internal family with the fresh, healthy produce we grow and more importantly, helping to feed other NH families in need by donating our garden proceeds to the NH Food Bank.”

Expansion of Timberland’s landscape improvement project starts today (June 24, 2010) and is expected to be completed by early next month.

About Timberland
Timberland (NYSE: TBL) is a global leader in the design, engineering and marketing of premium-quality footwear, apparel and accessories for consumers who value the outdoors and their time in it. Timberland markets products under the Timberland®, Timberland PRO®, Mountain Athletics®, SmartWool®, Timberland Boot Company®, howies® and IPATH® brands, all of which offer quality workmanship and detailing and are built to withstand the elements of nature. The company’s products can be found in leading department and specialty stores as well as Timberland® retail stores throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, South Africa and the Middle East. Timberland’s dedication to making quality products is matched by the company’s commitment to “doing well and doing good" -- forging powerful partnerships among employees, consumers and service partners to transform the communities in which they live and work. To learn more about Timberland, please visit timberland.litevpn.ru. To learn more about becoming an Earthkeeper, visit www.earthkeeper.com.