Topic: Jeff Swartz

Responsible Consumerism and The Challenge of Real World Brand Building

In an economy as whacked out as this one is globally, the tired "customer is king" adage is actually a wicked understatement. Consumers have seemingly infinite choices from good brands--many of them desperate to move the merchandise ...READ»

Timberland's Jeff Swartz on Corporate Responsibility

No one preaches corporate responsibility quite like Timberland's Jeff Swartz. Embraced by hip-hop trendsetters, his boot company grew eightfold in market capitalization from 1992 to 2005, hitting $1.6 billion. He used his position to deploy social initiatives galore, instituting some of the toughest worker-protection standards in the manufacturing industry, planting 1 million trees, and sponsoring thousands of volunteer events. He won accolades from Wall Street and social activists alike. But with his company's revenue soft and the stock price tumbling, is his own job sustainable?READ»

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At Timberland, Candor Moves the Dial

This outdoor apparel and shoemaker gets people on its side of environmental change by telling it like it is.READ»

Engaging Your Employees with Emotional Benefits

In a values-driven company, it's relatively easy to engage employees: they sign up and show up for our annual global service days, use their Path of Service benefit (paid time off to volunteer) and are actively involved in ...READ»

The Hard Work of Collaborative Solutions

In business school, everyone wanted to be the CEO--you know, the infallible one in the suit, with years of experience and wisdom, the one with all the answers. What a bogus model. Turns out, the best leaders are the ones with the ...READ»

From Counting Carbs to Counting Carbon

We all know what a nutrition label looks like, what calories are, how to decipher a list of ingredients. The labels are standardized and regulated by governments, and serve consumers seeking to make thoughtful choices about their consumption. Why doesn't the same thinking apply to fashion purchases?READ»

Building the Right Model for Business in China

How Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz balances the demands of the marketplace with the demands of the civic square.READ»

How to Make Socially Responsible Investments Pay Off

Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz on how to make socially-responsible investing appeal to Wall Street.READ»

Timberland: Pushing the Limits of CSR

The beat-up box showed up on my chair this morning. Too shapeless to be a book, too dented to be a party invite, I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened it. Inside the cardboard was a blue Timberland T-shirt, wrapped around the ...READ»

Make your CSR believable? How? Create and Leverage Social Capital

Trust: Why Business Lost It, And How To Win It Back (Part 2) Many companies are turning to Corporate Social Responsibility as a strategy to win back the trust of their stakeholders and customers. It won’t work. Why? Because you don’t become trustworthy by asking people to trust you even more.READ»

Fast 50 Updates

Thirty-three of the companies on last year's Fast Company 50 didn't make the list this time. But that doesn't mean they've lost their luster. Here's what they've been up to.READ»