Green Room

At Brooks we care about more than whether you buy our product. We’re not going to kid you. We hope you do and we’re confident you’ll enjoy our products, but our interests run deeper than that.

We care about people and the world we all share. We care about healthy bodies and healthy minds. We care about our role in fostering an environment where life can thrive for the long run. We are a consciously driven brand committed to positively impacting humanity and the earth.

So what does this mean? For Brooks, it’s a way of doing business—a way of life. It’s about being aware of our impact on the environment. It’s an inherent, proactive choice to be agents of change. It’s about community support and a socially responsible code of conduct. And it’s about environmental stewardship and doing our part to find acceptable alternatives to non-renewable and toxic materials, energy sources, and manufacturing practices.

Positively impacting humanity and the earth is a lifelong race. What follows are a few examples of the new technologies and practices Brooks has put into action to demonstrate our commitment:

BioMoGo—Now Available in the Trance™ 8!
Collateral Materials
CMP Midsole Manufacturing Process
Brooks Shoe Box
HPR Green
Distribution Center
Industry Collaboration

Our Carbon Footprint
Great Green Business Award

BioMoGo—Now Available in the Trance™ 8!

Ready for the most exciting environmental innovation to ever hit the sports industry? Well, hang on tight! Building off the momentum gained by our 2006 Runner’s World International “Best Innovation” Award for our environmentally sustainable development projects, Brooks introduces the first-ever biodegradable running shoe midsole: BioMoGo. Yes, we’ve taken the long-lasting cushioning of our original MoGo midsole and made it more environmentally friendly. How, you ask? We’ve added a non-toxic, natural additive to the MoGo compound that encourages anaerobic microbes to munch away once it hits the landfill. Traditional Ethylene Vinyl Acetate™ (EVA) midsoles can last up to 1,000 years in a landfill. BioMoGo’s microbial munch rate is a staggering 50 times faster, biodegrading nutrients into reusable byproducts within 20 years! That means that within 20 years time, Brooks alone will save 29.9 million pounds of landfill waste. For you pigskin fans out there, that equals 1,277 football fields covered one shoe deep!

BioMoGo makes its debut in the Trance™ 8, on store shelves now. What about our other performance running shoes? All Brooks performance running shoes with MoGo midsoles will feature groundbreaking BioMoGo by the end of 2009. And because we believe in being agents of positive change, we’ll release this technology to all other footwear brands. And so on we move—all of us—to greener pastures.

Collateral Materials

From brochures and catalogs to P.O.P. and hangtags, we scrutinize our printed pieces and vendor partners for their environmental impact. All paper we use is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which means it’s made using wood from well-managed forests, company controlled sources, and/or recycled material. We use only soy-based inks; even our metallic inks aren’t harmful to the environment. So what does this mean as an end result? By using more responsible materials for our Spring 2009 Footwear and Apparel catalogs alone, Brooks saved the following:

14,000 lb. of wood from trees (that’s 44 trees)
15,989 gal. of water (enough for 1,599 five-minute showers)
4,877 lb. of exhaust emissions (equivalent to driving a compact car 6,372 mi.)
2,646 lb. of solid waste (equivalent to 91 32-gal. cans of garbage)

CMP

Brooks’ eco-friendlier midsole manufacturing process reduces waste by 50 percent as compared to traditional midsole manufacturing methods. Typically, midsoles are punched out of large sheets—much like using a cookie cutter—leaving unusable excess material. Brooks’ midsoles are created using an efficient Compression Molded Preform (CMP) midsole process. It also saves steps and time, reducing labor and energy outputs. That means it’s better for the earth, better for your conscience.

Brooks Shoe Box

Brooks truly thought out of the box for its new shoe box design, which launched January 1, 2008. Made of fully biodegradable, 100-percent recycled paperboard, our new box features only non-toxic, soy-based inks with no heavy metals. All stuffing and wrapping inside the box has been reduced and is also made of biodegradable, 100-percent recycled materials. The box itself and each shoe stay—that molded piece of cardboard inserted into each shoe to help it maintain its shape during shipping—easily fold flat to minimize recycling bin bulk. Brooks also made a point to eliminate inks and expose the craft paper where ink printing is not necessary. Just look at the bottom of the new box for proof. And to naysayers who believe recycled boxes are flimsier? Not ours. Brooks brewed the new recycled paperboard composition in a way that maintains its integrity while reducing overall weight by 13 percent. Putting it all into context, in 2008 alone Brooks’ new shoe boxes will log the following environmental savings in materials and production resources:

1,680,617 lb. of paper (that’s 14,285 trees)
5,882,159 gal. of water (equivalent to 341,985 eight-minute showers)
3,361,233 kW of energy (enough to power basic items in 672,246 homes)
50,419 less tons of air pollution
134,500 tons of global freight weight

HPR Green

Brooks’ proprietary HPR (High Performance Rubber) Green outsole—featured in our Beast®, Ariel®, Addiction™ Walker, Addiction™ Walker V-Strap, and our entire Trail footwear collection—is a durable, long-wearing outsole compound made from sand rather than oil. That warrants a high-five from Mother Nature for petroleum reduction. This environmentally friendlier composition also results in premium wet-dry traction for excellent skid-resistance.

Distribution Center

Our green focus extends beyond our corporate office walls. Brooks’ product distribution center (DC), located in Sumner, Wash., follows a strict environmental policy for energy and materials used for packaging and shipping products, as well as for the building itself. In 2006 our DC team replaced all halogen lighting with fluorescent, resulting in an energy reduction of more than 30 percent. Furthermore, Brooks reuses 90 percent of inbound footwear and apparel shipping cartons for outbound customer orders. The remaining 10 percent of cartons and scrap corrugate are recycled through a program with Weyerhaeuser. All new shipping cartons, product slips, and other paper sent from our DC are constructed of 100-percent recyclable materials. Now that’s more sustainable shipping.

Industry Collaboration

Just to make sure it’s not all smoke and mirrors, Brooks routinely works with reputable outdoor industry and environmental organizations to analyze our current business practices and their impact on the earth. Examples include:

Brooks recently partnered with The Bainbridge Graduate Institute to benchmark our company's sustainable business practices. After providing an initial evaluation of Brooks' social and environmental impact, the Institute counseled us on how to make additional improvements beyond programs currently in place. As a result, we've already made advancements in areas such as office operations, footwear design and development procedures, internal communication, carbon footprint evaluation, and more.

We recognize sustainability is a process and will continue to develop supporting efforts on an ongoing basis. We currently work with a sustainability advisor from OASIS Environmental to further our momentum.

Brooks Sports is also a member of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a nonprofit business association that provides socially responsible business solutions to many of the world's leading corporations. Through advisory services, convenings and research, BSR works with corporations and concerned stakeholders of all types to create a more just and sustainable global economy.

Carbon Footprint

To evaluate our baseline carbon footprint, The Bainbridge Graduate Institute used the General Reporting Protocol from the Climate Registry, newly released in May 2008. This reporting guideline and tool is based on the World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development Greenhouse Gas Protocol, a globally accepted standard for assessing and reporting GHG emissions. Every effort was made to follow the Climate Registry’s reporting requirements in order to achieve accurate and repeatable results.

Great Green Business Award

In May 2008, Plant a Tree USA™ lauded us with its first-ever "Great Green Business Award." The award, given to environmentally responsible businesses, applauded Brooks for its "exemplary green business ethics and responsibility."

Read the Plant a Tree USA™ newsletter

So there you have it. Or at least the start of it. Please visit The Green Room in the future for more information on how Brooks puts social responsibility and environmental stewardship beliefs into action. Why? Because your feet deserve more. You deserve more. The world deserves more.