Deckers treads lightly: New sustainability czar fits in at shoe firm
Deckers Outdoor Corp., maker of the Ugg boot, Teva sandal and Simple branwd of shoes, has spent the past few years making sure its footwear and factories are good for workers and the environment. It won’t put up with suppliers who don’t follow wage, health and safety laws, and its newest BIO.D sneaker soles biodegrade in 20 years.
That was only the warm-up. On March 22, the company hired Mark Heintz as its director of corporate social responsibility, a position that will report directly to the firm’s chief operating officer.
Heintz honed his skills at Hewlett Packard, which has made headlines for its social responsibility efforts, such as releasing a list of its largest suppliers so consumers know more about what goes into their products. At Deckers, Heintz said he’ll focus on gauging and reducing the company’s environmental footprint, and then work to push that ethos outward to sub-suppliers and business partners over which the company has less direct control.
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