Influencing Sustainability at KEEN

The assignment content discusses various sustainability initiatives for KEEN Footwear, a company that aims to reduce its environmental impact. The recommendations include metrics and measurement of movement towards sustainability, positioning and market segmentation, global issues, products and services, branding and packaging, sustainable value circles, sustainable pricing, and sustainable marketing communications. Specifically, suggestions are made to target the young adult segment, perfect the sustainable water purifying system, have a shoe repurposing or recycling program, reduce shoe box size and packing material used in shipping, and provide informational newsletter emails. Additionally, it is recommended that KEEN adopts The Natural Step Framework to guide its sustainability efforts.

K E E N
2011
KEEN
Sustainability Audit
Amanda Aplet
Anna Kiritchenko
Melissa Buisan
Marshawna Williams
KEEN Contact: Chris Enlow - Care and Community
Manager
Email: [e-mail]
Phone: [phone]

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
Background..................................................................................................................................................2
Grading Scale...............................................................................................................................................3
Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics..................................................................................................4
Environments..............................................................................................................................................6
Social-Cultural Environment................................................................................................................6
Economic Environment........................................................................................................................8
Competitor Environment.....................................................................................................................8
Technology Environment.....................................................................................................................8
Legal-Political/Federal Environments..................................................................................................9
Natural Environment.........................................................................................................................11
Metrics and Measurement of Movements................................................................................................14
Positioning and Market Segmentation......................................................................................................17
Product Positioning...........................................................................................................................17
Market Segmentation........................................................................................................................18
Global Issues..............................................................................................................................................19
Products and Services................................................................................................................................21
Branding and Packaging............................................................................................................................25
Sustainable Value Circle............................................................................................................................29
Sustainable Pricing....................................................................................................................................30
Sustainable Marketing Communication.....................................................................................................31
KEEN’s Hybrid.Life Campaign.............................................................................................................32
KEEN’s Recess is Back Campaign........................................................................................................34
KEEN’s STAND Campaign...................................................................................................................34
Final Recommendations............................................................................................................................35
Works Cited...............................................................................................................................................40
Honors Pledge:
As a student of the Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. School of Business Administration I have read and strive to uphold the University’s Code of
Academic Integrity and promote ethical behavior. In doing so, I pledge on my honor that I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized
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materials or assistance on this examination or assignment. I further pledge that I have notengaged in cheating, forgery, or plagiarism and I
have cited all appropriate sources.
Student Signature: Amanda Aplet, Anna Kiritchenko, Melissa Buisan, Marshawna Williams
Introduction
KEEN, Inc. is a shoe manufacturing company that is based here in Portland, OR.
KEEN footwear was founded in 2003 by Martin KEEN and Rory Fuerst who had a taste for
outdoor adventure. KEEN was not just built on a shoe but they try to incorporate, what
they all, HybridLife. HybridLife is KEEN’s mantra for having good business practices that
encourage outdoor activities well taking care of each other and the earth. KEEN has built
their foundation on corporate social responsibilities by creating economically friendly and
sustainable products, encouraging life balance through “recess is back” and giving back to
help solve social issues around the globe. What has KEEN not done? To answer, throughout
this report we have explored all aspects of KEEN, from production to culture to marketing.
Using the Natural Step Framework we have analyzed KEEN’s organizational suitability
efforts and made recommendations on where they can improve the business to be more
sustainable. One of our main observations throughout this audit is that KEEN is very good
about encouraging a work life balance among their employees and to their customer. Yet,
we have discovered that there is a lot more they could do in the production of their shoes.
Adding to the aspect that KEEN has many great core values but it is the little things that can
make the biggest impact.
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Background
KEEN, which is privately held and moved its headquarters from Alameda, Calif., to
Portland five years ago, recorded about $200 million in sales last year. With more than
5,000 retail sites in more than 50 countries, the company projects $250 million in sales this
year (Brettman, 2011). KEEN was founded on the idea of making a cover toe sandal and its
first featured shoe was the Newport that also featured the thick black bumper that covers
the toes. KEEN soon found their market in promoting outdoor and water activities. KEEN
footwear has been a fast growing company since the launch in 2003. Today, KEEN has
introduced over 150 footwear styles. As KEEN grew more variety of footwear styles were
added, growing its causal business and cold weather footwear as well as a line of bags and
socks. In 2006 KEEN moved to Portland, OR and at the same time Kirk Richardson joined
the company as president after 27 year at Nike and James Curleigh joined in 2008 as CEO.
That same year Richardson lead KEEN’s corporate social responsibility and since 2004
after donating their making budget to tsunami aid in Asia, KEEN continuously makes the
effort to donate to various organizations. This was the first step in KEEN’s long term Hybrid
Care program they partner with other organization that also attack and contribute to social
issues.
Grading Scale
In order to come up with a realistic sustainability grade for KEEN, we created a
rating system that broke down the final grade to include the ten aspects that we discuss
throughout our paper. After analyzing each aspect we gave it a score of 1-4, with 1 being
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the lowest rating and 4 being the highest rating. Then we took the average of all ten ratings
and were able to determine a final sustainability grade for KEEN.
Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics
In 2008, KEEN released their first and only whole-system self-assessment they call
the “report card.” The report card covers KEEN’s corporate social responsibility practices,
guidelines, and goals regarding three key areas: environment, community, and growth
(Report Card, 2008). According to the report card, its purpose is to “provide information
and supporting metrics on the challenges, successes and disappointments we are (KEEN is)
experiencing during the journey toward social and environmental best practices” (Report
Card, 2008). The report card was created following the sustainability reporting framework
of the Amsterdam-based Global Reporting Initiative. This framework, which is becoming
the global standard, indicates how to measure and report economic, environmental, and
social performance (Report Card, 2008). This accountability report card is reported at the
public disclosure level (“C” level).
As the Global Reporting Initiative indicates, KEEN created a CSR team and Report
Card Review Committee rather than a third-party reviewer to “substantiate the report’s
accuracy” and advise them on the creation of their report card (Report Card, 2008). The
committee is made up of five experts: a non-profit organization officer, university
professor, supplier, third-party logistics provider and a KEEN employee, who all
volunteered for the task. Through a series of meetings, the team reviewed the report card
and provided input on the changes or additions that needed to be made to the scope and
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depth of future reports. KEEN also plans on expanding the size of the committee to include
a wider range of stakeholders.
As briefly mentioned before, the report card addresses KEEN’s relationship with the
environment, the community, and growth with a focus on the product line, supply chain,
and headquarter operations. More specifically, it provides an introduction to the purpose of
the report, explains and introduces the review committee, and proceeds to cover detailed
topics about the products themselves, delivery, environmental impacts, labor, carbon
footprint, supply chain, (etc.) and community outreach and goals. The first appendix of the
document provides a list of the required topics required to be covered in their internal
assessment. KEEN uses the following index to summarize how they assessed themselves on
various informational requirements:
“I” means they included the requirement
“P” indicates partially included in accordance with available data
“ND” indicates no data available
“NA” indicates not applicable due to KEEN, Inc. lack of presence in this area
“NR” indicates not required for “C” Level Reporting
(Report Card, 2008)
KEEN is aware that a CSR document benefits their corporate and brand image as
well as builds a connection with customers. KEEN states the following benefits of their
report card: “(it) allows us to engage with interested community members, helping us to
link our vision and brand values with our day-to-day actions. The report also guides our
ongoing efforts in setting goals and measuring progress, as well as gauging our
performance against peer companies” (Report Card, 2008). They are also aware that their
CSR commitment establishes transparency requirements and they expect that their report
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card will influence them to “remain accountable for ensuring openness in our business
practices” (Report Card, 2008).
Corporate Social Responsibility and The Natural Step Framework
KEEN’s CSR focused report card causes little systematic increases in environmental
concentrations of substances from the earth’s crust. It is largely electronic, so unless it is
printed, the major extraction of substances from the earth can be traced to the production
of computers and the electricity to run them. Similarly, their electronic statement causes
systematic increases in environmental concentrations of synthetic substances related to
computer hardware. Other than the negative effects of e-waste, the report card causes no
systematic increases in ecosystem degradation unless it was printed on glossy/toxic paper
with toxic ink and was not recycled. And finally, the report card creates no systematic
barriers to people meeting their own needs. Overall, the CSR focused report card is digital
and therefore does not directly influence the Natural Step Framework, therefore we rank
this aspect of KEEN as a 4 (highly sustainable).
Environments
Social-Cultural Environment
Education and marketing and media influence the social-cultural environment.
Besides statements on valuing sustainability and striving to progress in sustainability, we
did not discover any evidence that KEEN is trying to influence their customers by educating
them on the importance of sustainability. Considering that their targeting the micro-culture
of outdoor enthusiasts who value durability and functionality of outdoor shoes, they most
likely have some background on the importance of sustainability. Instead, KEEN focuses on
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the distinct style and comfort of their footwear and various attributes of their footwear,
such as waterproof materials, reflective webbing, steel toes, and slip resistant soles, and
other features that deliver value to their target.
Regarding marketing and media channels, KEEN has a campaign called Hybrid Life
that is intended to illustrate the company’s brand image. Hybrid Life is meant to “attract
creative thinks, outdoor lovers, and social or environmental activists alike to its global
community” (Report Card, 2008). Hybrid Life embodies living sustainable and in balance
by practicing three verbs: create, play and care. “Create.Play.Care” is the brand’s tag line as
well as their daily operating philosophy. By “create,” KEEN is encouraging individuals to
express themselves and their thoughts and be leaders in environmental or social change
(Finnegan, 2009). By “play,” KEEN wants the outdoors to be embraced through active
participation. By “care,” KEEN is encouraging individuals to support environmental and
social causes through the outdoor experience by making small and large considerate
choices (Finnegan, 2009). KEEN is relatively reserved when it comes to marketing all of
their sustainability efforts. Speaking on this, Chris Enlow states:
“We try not to beat our drum too loud because we’re not perfect, nowhere close, and
the figure of green-washing is real, because it just takes one person to scream pretty loud
and it gets ugly. We try to be relatively quiet about it and try to document what we’re doing
and then be in a position where we can say ‘yeah, this is what we’re doing’ or ‘oh geez, we
need to work on that’” (Enlow, 2009).
Considering that their product largely services the needs of people who are active and
outdoors a lot, it makes sense that they position themselves to function in a way that will
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keep their employees and customers the closest with the environment and supporting of
their passions. KEEN markets their ads in outdoorsy magazines, social media, word of
mouth, and on YouTube. They are effectively marketing to micro-level target consumers.
Economic Environment
Although the current economic condition is struggling and has been struggling, the
shoe industry has not been significantly impacted. Whether the cause is “frugal fatigue,” or
shoes are perceived as necessities, people are not showing signs of reducing their spending
on shoes (Rosenbloom, 2009). On top of this, society is increasingly becoming aware of the
value and need for sustainability (especially to outdoorsy people), so KEEN is not
struggling because of the negative economic environment.
Competitor Environment
KEEN’s competitors consist of other outdoor recreational shoe companies such as
Merrell, The North Face, Zamberlan, and Timberland (to name a few). Outdoor and
recreational shoes are a very competitive industry as most products are similar and it can
be difficult to differentiate oneself in offering a better value proposition than competitors
offer. KEEN is also relatively new so this adds to the difficulty in competing with economies
of scale. KEEN does not necessarily participate in any competitor collaboration to receive
any mutual benefits. However, depending on the volume of product they need to make,
they “take advantage of the great supply chain that folks like Nike and Adidas have put in
place…. but KEEN only represents about 2% of factory production while Nike uses 60%; we
week out suppliers that can do the 2%” (Enlow, 2009). So they can potentially be found in a
factory with Columbia, North face, Timberland, etc.
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Technology Environment
Emerging technologies are making shoe assembly easier! KEEN uses a revolutionary
“Direct Inject” and “Direct Attach” technology to assemble the soles of select shoe models. It
is a German technology that uses heat and pressure to adhere two separate parts of the
shoe together. Essentially, it is more sustainable because it eliminates the use of glue and
almost 99% of what you inject into the shoe stays on the shoe rather than creates waste
(Report Card, 2008). They plan on growing with this technology and using it a lot more.
Currently, they have three of these direct inject machines in Portland. These machines are
running more sustainable as KEEN has an energy compressor that helps provide energy to
run the machines. KEEN uses one that regulates with the needs of the machine so that it is
more efficient, uses less energy, and gives them tax incentives (Report Card, 2008).
They are partnered with a German-owned tannery, ISA Tan Tec, (located in
Guangzhou, China) that recently implemented a new production system called the Low
Impact to the Environment (LITE) (Report Card, 2008). ISA Tan Tec believes that reducing
greenhouse gas emissions is the most important environmental issue. Their new LITE
leather process allows them to “achieve nearly an 11% reduction (948 metric tons) in CO2
emissions and nearly a 45% reduction in water consumption (Report Card, 2008). Up to
15% of the hot water consumed in the LITE production processes is generated through
solar heating. An additional 20% of hot water is obtained from cooling devices of existing
production equipment” (Report Card, 2008). Less energy in this process produces less CO2.
Also, 86% of the products are finished with direct application technologies that result in
lighter coatings and reduced air emissions. This tannery is experimenting with water
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treatment projects that would be environmentally friendly and require no electricity or
chemicals. 15% of their water is currently recycled (Report Card, 2008).
Legal-Political/Federal Environments
As far as we have discovered, KEEN has not been in any violation of municipal or
federal legal requirements regarding their business practices. KEEN meets all legal
sustainability requirements. KEEN “purchased 100 percent renewable energy for their
corporate headquarters to offset 164 metric tons of greenhouse gas emission through
Portland Gas and Electric’s Clean Wind Program” which is 100% new wind power from
farms in Oregon and Washington (Report Card, 2008). This energy offset “equated about
403,123 miles not driven or 21,787 trees planted annually” (Report Card, 2008). KEEN’s
“annual electrical consumption per square foot in their headquarters was 9.2 percent
higher than the national average” (Report Card, 2008). We believe it is appropriate to
mention that last May, the Portland City Council adopted a “package of regulation
amendments,” which was prepared by the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, that will
make the installation of sustainable energy sources such as “solar panels, wind turbines,
eco-roofs, rain or gray-water cisterns, and mechanisms that produce energy from
compost,” easier to implement (“Portland Adopts…” 2011).
A lot of KEEN’s leather (70%) is sourced from the United States (30% comes from
Brazil) (Report Card, 2008). KEEN strictly follows animal husbandry policies. It is
supervised by the US Environmental Protection Agency and People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA). KEEN also has a Workplace Code of Conduct for Contract
Production Facilities that they look for production facilities that will follow all
environmental laws and regulations of the country in which they operate (Report Card,
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2008). They also expect that the management teams of their production partners put
efforts into improving environmental performance in their operations and that they
require the same of their suppliers (Report Card, 2008). KEEN wants them to integrate
sustainability principles into business decisions, be responsible as they use natural
resources, and adopt cleaner production and pollution methods (Report Card, 2008).
KEEN’s tanner, ISA Tan Tec, complies with ISO 14064 standards for greenhouse gas
accounting and verification (Report Card, 2008). ISO (International Organization for
Standardization) provides tools for supporting GHG reduction and emission trading.
Ultimately, following ISO 14064 standards is helping the tannery in being transparent
regarding GHG disclosure.
Natural Environment
The technology KEEN uses to manufacture their products greatly reduces the
impact on the natural environment. More the two-thirds of the leather KEEN uses for its
products is LITE Leather. This has allowed them to surpass the industry’s benchmark for
energy consumption by 36.43% and water consumption by 44.55% (Report Card, 2008).
The industry benchmarks were created by the Leather Working Group, a “multi-
stakeholder initiative that assesses the compliance and environmental performance of
tanners and promotes sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices
within the footwear leather industry” (Report Card, 2008).
Regarding packaging, 90% of their three-dimensional internal shoe forms are made
from recycled material fiber that is molded while it is still in pulp so that they can save
materials and energy (Report Card, 2008). Their shoe wrapping material with embossed
logos is made of 100% recycled fiber. And they eliminated information hang-tags that used
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to be attached to the shoes and now they print is inside and outside the lid of the box with
soy-based ink (Report Card, 2008).
KEEN has practiced backcasting. Before they create their products, they design the
product with the goal of minimizing waste in production and using re-purposed or recycled
materials. They also aim to make their shoes as re-purpose-able as possible. Reusable or
recyclable materials are separated in each manufacturing facility in a sorting process but
waste diversion currently varies based on the business partner. Many facilities sell their
wasted rubber to local recycling centers. In 2007, they performed a waste diversion
analysis of their production facilities; they looked at “production processes and
downstream re-use, recycling or disposal of waste, which gave us (them) a better
understanding of current practices and future opportunities” (Report Card, 2008). They
now recycle small scraps of polyester fabric and reprocess it as recycled yarn. In their next
Report Card, KEEN plans on “detailing total waste in pounds based on five categories:
reusable/recyclable, secondary market, landfill, burning and incineration” (Report Card,
2008).
KEEN also acknowledges that energy consumption in product creation can greatly
affect the environment. Their contract production facilities are mostly run by coals and
low-grade diesel oil. Their direct inject (described earlier) production method reduces 0.7
kilowatt hours per pair comparing to adhesive-based shoe construction. In 2007, this
method reduced about 17.55 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions (figure based on GHG
Protocol standards for coal/oil electrical generation in China which is the most widely used
international tool) (Report Card, 2008).
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Moving onto transportation, 79% of KEEN’s products are shipped in container ships,
12% in airplanes, 9% in trucks, and 0.25% in trains (Report Card, 2008). Moving product
from production location to warehouses and stores burns many fossil fuels and generates a
lot of carbon dioxide. To reduce this environmental impact, KEEN is looking at the strategic
planning level of operations regarding their suppliers, utilities, and other stakeholders.
They encourage most of their partners to have a program that will measure and report
carbon dioxide emissions. Factoring together data on “ground transportation from factory
to port, inbound sea and air freight, ground transportation from port to distribution
centers, and outbound freight for our North American operations we (they) released 6,249
metric tons of CO2 emissions in the course of transporting 3,125,000 pairs of shoes to our
U.S. retailers” (Report Card, 2008). They try to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by
shipping directly from their production facilities Recreation Equipment, Inc.’s distribution
center. By doing this, they reduced carbon dioxide emission by over 56 metric tons (Report
Card, 2008). However, KEEN acknowledges that the global transportation supply chain has
two serious challenges to overcome: container ships and diesel trucks. KEEN provides the
following information”
“A study by Carnegie Mellon University detailed that container ships use
approximately three percent of global oil consumption and transport over 60 percent of
consumer goods imported into the USA, yet account for 16 percent of all oil-based sulfur
emissions. This is due to container ships running on bunker fuel, which contains up to
5,000 times more sulfur dioxide (SO2) than diesel and is a leftover product after other
high-grade fuels are refined from crude oil. Sulfur dioxide is not a GHG, but breathing in
this airborne particulate may cause labored breathing, coughing, and/or a sore throat or
even permanent pulmonary damage. Trucks represent a second challenge as not all diesel
trucks are created equal. According to New York Times article “Trucks Power China’s
Economy at a Suffocating Cost,” trucks burn low-grade diesel fuel that on average contains
130 times the pollution-causing sulfur that the U.S. allows in most trucks” (Report Card,
2008).
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In response to this, KEEN believes that they are too small to cause a significant
change but they will continue to communicate and influence their freight companies to
adopt cleaner alternatives.
Environments and The Natural Step Framework
KEEN is currently taking substances from the earth’s crust. Their international
production facilities and product transportation methods are currently run on oil, which is
not a sustainable or renewable resource. As a company that produces products, though
they are placing efforts into using recycled materials, they are constantly increasing
environmental concentrations of synthetic substances. Although they are placing efforts
into making their products recyclable and re-purpose-able, they are still producing waste
which degrades the ecosystem. Emitting carbon dioxide in production, transportation, and
operations also harms the ecosystem. And other than contributing to ecosystem
degradation which will eventually prevent humans from meeting their needs, we do not
find any other systematic barriers to people meeting their own needs. Based on how KEEN
relates to the different marketing environments, we give them a rating of 2.5 for
sustainability. This rating was influenced by the fact that some comparable companies are
doing much worse.
Metrics and Measurement of Movements
Companies that can save themselves money due to making sustainable changes are
successful because of their metrics. Metrics help to keep track of key aspects in human and
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areas of natural capital. KEEN is tracking a lot of what it does and how much it does not
contrite to the earth through it’s; production, transportation, environmental impact and
energy consumption. KEEN’s main focus is reducing carbon footprint through production
innovation. In 2007 KEEN started to use Low Impact to the Environment Leather (LITE),
manufacturing technology is based on controlling GHG KEEN has been able to reduce
energy consumption by 36.43% and water consumption by 44.55%.KEEN uses the Global
reporting Initiative (GRI) effective framework to guide. Several US companies use this
efficient framework and sets out principles and indicators to measure their economic,
environmental and social. These principles are generally accepting accounting practices
around the world.
The GRI provides guidelines of materials, what should be report and can be omitted.
Allows a certain amount of latitude in the selection of what are called core performance
indicators, additional performance indicators and apparel & footwear sector supplement
indicators. KEEN has been selecting the appropriate indicator of where its business model
impacts communities or the surrounding environment reporting at the C or public
disclosure level.
KEEN takes time out to measure its product responsibility and its effects on the
environment. In order to do this KEEN measures and reports on its use of transportation
and retail packaging from manufacturing to the end consumer. It is a detailed chain of
custody audit; total value in kilograms and percentage recycled/recycled content. When it
comes to environmental impacts of manufacturing KEEN conducts a waste diversion
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analysis, measuring total waste in pounds on reusable/recyclable, secondary market,
landfill, burning and incineration.
KEEN measures energy consumption in the footwear construction, to do this KEEN
thought to tackle reducing overall energy consumption at contract production facilities.
The use of bituminous coal and low grade diesel oil are the common power sources
decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases and pollution levels. With this method KEEN’s
production results estimated net energy reduction of 0.7 kilowatt hours per pair when
compared to adhesive shoe reduces 17.55 metric tons of CO2 emissions. This based of the
Greenhouse Gas Protocol emission standard for a coal/diesel oil electrical generation for
Chin. Benchmarks were established, each facility is reacquired to deliver documented
information based in a rating system as to do more thorough job increasing business and
environmental efficiencies partnership based in China.
Finally, KEEN uses metric measurements in shipping goods from production to
consumer, production facilities and supply chain transportation methods. To do this KEEN
gathers data from on ground transportation starting from factory to port, inbound sea and
air freight, ground transportation from port to distribution center and outbound freight of
NA operations. In 2007 released 6,249 metric tons of CO2 emissions in the course of
transporting 3,125,000 pairs of shoes. Changed their transportation method buy bypassing
our distribution center and shipping directly from production facility to retailer reduced
their CO2 by 56 metric tons
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Rating KEEN for its metrics and measurement we would give them a 3. KEEN is
targeting all of the right factories in reducing waste and energy consumption but they are not
open to demonstrating how much it is saving them. KEEN is green muting, but it would
beneficial to see how much the company is saving and putting back into the community. With
this, KEEN can encourage others business to do so as well, especially in the footwear industry.
Positioning and Market Segmentation
In regards to KEEN’s positioning, the company has worked hard to position and
present itself in a way that embodies KEEN’s philosophy of living a balanced and
sustainable life around three core values, create, play and care (Finnegan, 2009). They have
incorporated this philosophy and three core values into a brand tagline “Create. Play. Care.
It’s a way of life. We call it Hybrid.Life” (Finnegan, 2009). In doing so, KEEN hopes to attract
“creative thinkers, outdoor lovers, and social or environmental activists alike to its global
community” (Finnegan, 2009). In correlation with our textbook, KEEN strives to serve
primarily the Genuine Greens, those who are environmental activists, committed to pro-
environmental behavior and perceive no barriers to action (Martin, 2012). Many believe
that KEEN has taken a pioneering position in the footwear industry, “by aligning itself and
its products with the issue of living a balanced life and incorporating sustainability in its
broadest sense” (Finnegan, 2009).
Product Positioning
KEEN has also been successful in positioning its products as having premium
quality. According to a 2009 case study, “the fact that KEEN sales continue to grow
dramatically, while less expensive competitive products abound, suggests that the firm’s
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target market appreciates the quality and style of the products—as well as the values for
which they stand” (Finnegan, 2009). These sales numbers clearly demonstrate that KEEN
has identified, and is striving to meet, a previously unfilled market niche, further
confirming that the firm’s positioning has been successful in getting the company’s
message and products out there (Finnegan, 2009).
Market Segmentation
Along with the market segments mentioned earlier (creative thinkers, outdoor
lovers, and social or environmental activists), KEEN’s target market initially consisted of
devoted outdoorsy people in their mid-30s who live in the Pacific Northwest (Finnegan,
2009). However, as the brand and product line expanded, KEEN began to serve hikers,
runners and men and women who appreciate outdoor-inspired casual footwear (Finnegan,
2009). With this, KEEN’s customer base has gone from fanatical outdoors consumers to
include customers who are merely “inspired by the outdoors” (Finnegan, 2009).
In order for KEEN to develop or expend more focus on these market segmentations,
it makes sense for them to use a variety of psychographic measures, such as lifestyle
segmentation and benefit segmentation. Within its use of lifestyle segmentation, KEEN
largely strives to serve the primary conservationists, people who “make major changes in
their lives in an effort to reduce consumption” (Martin, 2012). By providing these
consumers with a durable and long-lasting shoe, they are helping the primary
conservationists in their efforts. Although KEEN’s positioning may not directly appeal to
secondary conservationists, people who “don’t change their basic consumption patterns,
but seek to offset their impact through reusing, recycling and the use of developing
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technologies,” KEEN’s wide use of recycled materials can potentially serve this market
segment as well.
When it comes to benefit segmentation, KEEN appeals strongly to two of the three
general classes of benefits, self-expressing value and functional value. Due to the fact that
KEEN shoes are considered to have premium quality, they are priced a bit higher, so it may
be safe to assume that customers who buy KEEN products are those who care about the
environment (self-expressing value) and appreciate a high quality, durable shoe (functional
benefit). Therefore, based on these examples and various research, it is evident that
positioning and market segmentation play a large role in getting the company’s brand and
product out in the market.
Evaluation Against TNSF
Based on KEEN’s positioning and market segmentation in regards to sustainability I
would rate them a score of 3 out of 4 as they do an adequate job of positioning themselves
as a sustainable company and they strive to serve consumers who share their core
sustainable values. However, they did not receive a 4 because they are currently not
targeting one of the most important market segments in terms of sustainability actions: the
teenage/young adult segment.
Global Issues
One of the largest issues standing out to us is that KEEN’s contracts with their global
producers require those companies to adhere to the regulations of the country that they
operate in (discussed in Environments). This is an issue because countries of varying
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development vary in their legal requirements. This makes the sustainability of KEEN’s
products vary upon where they were produced.
To address the global issue of the water crisis, we know that KEEN is partnered with
ISA Tan Tec, a tannery that is experimenting with water treatment projects that would be
environmentally friendly and require no electricity or chemicals. 15% of KEEN’s water is
currently recycled and their partnership with innovative leaders in sustainability research
regarding water puts KEEN in a good light (Report Card, 2008).
KEEN has placed a lot of effort into the “Caring” aspect of their Hybrid Life
philosophy. In 2005 they created the Hybrid.Care giving program to give back to the
greater community and care for the environment. KEEN is affiliated with various
organizations throughout the world. The organizations reside in the United States, Canada,
Central America, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Europe, and the Czech Republic. They
include: Project Canoe, Wildlife Recue, Trans Canadian Trail, American Whitewater, Leave
no Trace, Kiva, The Conservation Alliance, Education Primero, Respect the Mountains,
European Outdoor Conservation Association, The People and Parks Foundations, and
Conservation Alliance Japan (to name a few ) (“Hybrid.Care, 2011). In total, there are 19
different organizations that KEEN supports and sponsors. These organizations range from
coalitions aiming to save specific natural habitats, such as the Bruce Trail, to national
alliances aiming to protect nature in general, such as The Conservation Alliance.
Overall we give KEEN a rating of 3.5 for their position on global issues. This rating is
mostly derived from their extensively spanning Hybrid.Care mission and their efforts for
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partnering with some contractors that are addressing global issues. However, they still
have room for improvement.
Products and Services
When it comes to their product mix, KEEN offers customers a wide range products
such as expansive shoe lines for men, women and children, several bag lines and a diverse
line of socks. KEEN’s shoe lines are separated in to the following six categories; trailhead,
blvd, waterfront, pedal, industrial and service. For Children they have shoes for infants,
toddlers and youth. The bag collections that KEEN sells are lifestyle, trailhead, harvest
(which is actually made of recycled rice bags), and kids. Their sock collection includes 41
different sock choices.
KEEN does not offer many product related services however. One service which is
typical with most shoe and apparel brands is they do have a 30 day return policy. When we
asked Chris if KEEN did any kind of customer incentives such as bringing in old shoes to
receive a discount, he said that this is something they are wanting to do in the future, but
they don’t have any plans set in place as of yet (Enlow, 2011).
There are also services that they provide that they do not publicly announce; they
send shoes that are deemed un-wearable to the Nike rubber grinding facility (Enlow,
2011). They collect shoes that are gently worn, but there is nothing wrong with them and
they send these to a program called soles for souls which distributes the used shoes to
orphanages and disaster relief programs (Enlow, 2011). Also, sample shoes sometimes get
separated and those mismatched shoes are given to a program called Odd Shoe Exchange
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which gives shoes to people who may only need one shoe due to amputation or something
of that sort (Enlow, 2011). By sending the un-wearable shoes to Nike’s grinding facility,
KEEN is adhering to the second system condition, they are not adding to the amount of
shoes and rubber in landfills. By giving shoes to Soles for Souls and Odd Shoe Exchange
they are working on system condition four, they are giving back to people who are in need.
In respect to production, it is important to KEEN that they uphold dignity of labor,
however working with foreign producers can be challenging and hard to monitor. They
base production orders on the quality of workmanship, on-time delivery, adherence to
KEEN’s workplace code of conduct for contract production facilities and competitive
pricing (Report Card, 2008). Because laws are not always evenly enforced and adherence
to the code of conduct may not always be a production facility’s main concern KEEN
believes that independent, third-party monitoring is the key to their commitment to
transparency (Report Card, 2008). They applied and were accepted as a participating
company of the Fair Labor Association in 2007 (Report Card, 2008). The FLA conducts
independent monitoring and verification to ensure that the FLA’s Workplace Standards are
upheld where FLA company products are produced (Report Card, 2008).
KEEN also hired a designated compliance officer who conducted internal audits of
existing facilities, identified issues and deficiencies began follow up corrective action
reports and began working with contract production facilities to remediate outstanding
issues (Report Card, 2008). The audits found that KEEN is not immune to issues in
production facilities (Report Card, 2008). They realized that no production facility is
perfect and issues that theirs faces include freedom of association and a lack of capacity
22

building in worker participation, excessive overtime work hours, inaccurate payment of
wages and occupational health and safety issues (Report Card, 2008). Moving forward
KEEN continues engagement with the FLA and monitor the production facilities they work
with. Although KEEN is working to improve the conditions in their production facilities,
the conditions are currently not perfect which defies system condition four; the people in
the factories are having to work long hours and may be exposed to chemicals.
When it comes to what their products are made from and how they are made, KEEN
is doing a few things to improve the sustainability of their production, however they could
do more. KEEN decided to begin transitioning a portion of their product line to LITE (Low
Impact to the Environment) Leather (Report Card, 2008). This decision to transition was
based on making sure that performance and quality were balanced and to lessen the
environmental footprint as well (Report Card, 2008). LITE Leather drastically reduces GHG
emissions and water consumption during the manufacturing and waste treatment process
for leather tanning (Report Card, 2008). Up to 15 percent of the hot water used in the LITE
production process is generated from solar heating; an additional 20 percent of hot water
is gathered from cooling devices of existing production equipment. The LITE process uses
low temperature drying equipment which means less energy is used in the drying process
(Report Card, 2008). This process also uses new direct application technologies, which uses
less coating to coat the leather which in turn reduces air emissions. In 2007, more than
two-thirds of the leather used by KEEN was LITE Leather (Report Card, 2008). To get an
idea of where KEEN is sourcing their leather, approximately 70 percent is sourced from the
United States, which follows strict animal husbandry and environmental practices under
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the supervision of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals; the remaining 30 percent comes from Brazil (Report Card, 2008).
Because KEEN has no repurposing program for their shoes many consumers may through
their shoes. The Leather that is being added to the landfills defies system condition 1 and 2
in a way because the leather does have a coating it is not entirely natural and rubber from
the shoes defies system condition 2.
The rubber that KEEN uses is, however, made from raw materials which contribute
heavily to system conditions two and three. When we talked with Chris he expressed no
desire or future plans to start using post-consumer rubber in their rubber production, he
did talk to us about how they are cutting down on their use of solvent-based adhesives. By
cutting back on the use of these adhesives, KEEN is working to improve on system
conditions three and four. The issue with solvent-based adhesives and primers is that they
present health risks to production workers if not applied in well-ventilated areas, plus
there are broader environmental risks when these chemicals are released into the
environment via these same ventilation systems (Report Card, 2008). Due to the fact that
KEEN shoes have a unique shape, they have had trouble keeping materials like rubber and
leather bonded together (Report Card, 2008). Some solutions KEEN has come up with the
reduce the need for adhesives are the methods they use to bond the outsole to the rest of
the shoe. The first method is called stitch and turn; this is where the outsole is stitched to
the upper; in this method only toe connection to the outsole requires glue (Report Card,
2008). The second method is called direct inject, this is when the outsole and midsole are
directly attached to the upper through and injection process (Report Card, 2008). The final
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method is called direct attach or Vulcanization, this is where the outsole is directly attached
to the upper by using a combination of heat and pressure; this method only require glue for
the toe to the outsole and outsole to midsole (Report Card, 2008).
KEEN’s pricing strategy is driven by a value proposition that is rooted in quality,
durability and comfort (Finnegan, 2009). KEEN products are priced at the higher end of the
market, this is due to looking at the amount that customers are willing to pay for a
premium product (Finnegan, 2009). The fact that KEEN sales continue to grow
dramatically, while there are less expensive competitive products suggests that the firm’s
target market appreciates the quality and style of the products, as well as the values for
which they stand. In choosing distributors, KEEN selects partners that match its target
market and have similar values (Finnegan, 2009).
Based on what they are doing in respects to their products we decided to rate KEEN
a 2.5 out of 4 for TNSF. This is because there is a lot KEEN can be doing to improve their
production and the services they offer, but they are making changes in some areas.
Branding and Packaging
KEEN wanted to define itself as sustainable and they wanted this definition of
sustainability to incorporate the people and the society they live in. To do this, KEEN
introduced KEEN Hybrid.Life in 2006 (Finnegan, 2009). This idea is more that an
advertising tag line or campaign, it has become the company’s brand positioning; it
embodies their philosophy of living a balanced and sustainable life around their three core
values (Finnegan, 2009). These three core values are based on being innovative, redefining
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the outdoors and giving back and this translates to KEEN’s values of, “Create,” “Play,” and
“Care” (Finnegan, 2009). KEEN uses this brand of Hybrid.Life in order to attract creative
thinkers, outdoor lovers, and social or environmental activists alike to its global community
(Finnegan, 2009). KEEN strives to encourage their consumers and employees to create
possibilities and express their visions, lead change and solve environmental or social issues
in a new, creative way by actively engaging in the outdoors and to be motivated and awed
by what is possible (Finnegan, 2009). KEEN’s value of play encourages people to embrace
the outdoors in its entirety through active participation, reimage the outdoors as any place
without a ceiling, and believe that the far edge of one place is really just the beginning of
somewhere else (Finnegan, 2009). To enhance the value of care, KEEN wants people to
engage with causes that make a positive difference around social causes and the
environment through the outdoor experience, and make each choice large and small a
considered one (Finnegan, 2009).
To further establish this Hybrid.Life brand KEEN has started their Recess is Back
campaign as well as their Hybrid.Care initiative. The Recess is back program encourages
customers and employees to get active and have some fun. At the Portland headquarters
they encourage employees to take at least 15 minutes of recess a day and they give out
recess passes. The Hybrid.Care program which gives back in the form of time, money and
resources to a variety of non-profit organizations around the world.
KEEN has a sustainable Brand; their brand message resonates with consumers, 60%
of KEEN’s customers own two or more pairs of its shoes or sandals (Finnegan, 2009). New
products lines are designed and created specifically with this brand message in mind. They
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get consumers involved in their advertising campaigns by having them send in their stories
of their Hybrid.Life, they have to get involved with the Recess is Back program and the
Hybrid.Care as well. Their message encourages people to do better for themselves and for
the environment.
The KEEN Hybrid.Life is also embraced and practiced internally (Finnegan, 2009).
KEEN employees continuously challenge themselves to live by the three core values. Some
examples of how they are doing this are; changing the printer default from color to black
and white, encouraging and paying employees for time off for volunteering and creating a
“Green Team” to find opportunities to become more environmentally friendly (Finnegan,
2009). One example of how KEEN employees are taking on the values of the company is
that several KEEN employees spent two weeks in China in July 2008, distributing free
shoes to residents of Yunnan Province after many of them lost their worldly possessions
and in many cases their loved ones in the great earthquake (Finnegan, 2009).
When it comes to packaging, KEEN uses a shoe box for all of their footwear that is
made of 70 percent post-consumer waste and 30 percent recycled materials, is 100 percent
recyclable, constructed with natural, water-based glue, printed with soy-based inks with a
natural finished surface with no applied clay coatings and is flat-folding for easy recycling
(Report Card, 2008). In addition to this sustainable shoe box, the three-dimensional show
forms used to hold the shape of the shoe are made from 90 percent recycled material fiber,
molded while still in pulp for which saves energy and material (Report Card, 2008). The
shoe wrapping material is 100 percent recycled fiber with embossed logos saving ink and
energy (Report Card, 2008). They also eliminated the informational hang-tags which are
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normally attached to the shows, now the information is printed in soy-based ink on the
shoe box and inside the shoe box lid (Report Card, 2008).
Also, rather than throwing out all of the Styrofoam packaging material they have
accumulated over the years, KEEN found a company from Portland called Total Reclaim
Environmental Services (Total Reclaim, 2010). Total Reclaim offers responsible recycling
solutions and helped KEEN to dispose of the Styrofoam as well as other unwanted
materials such as computer components and appliances (Total Reclaim, 2010). These
items would have otherwise most likely ended up in a landfill. KEEN has also begun
repurposing corrugated cardboard used to ship their products from factories (Repurpose
for a Purpose, 2011). They call this initiative Repurpose for a Purpose. This program saves
money by reducing the number of new boxes they have to buy (Repurpose for a Purpose,
2011). It improves efficiencies in the warehouse and lessens the impact on the
environment as well (Repurpose for a Purpose, 2011). Repurpose for a Purpose has the
potential to save 144 trees in 2011 as well as a potential savings of 48,000 pounds of
greenhouse gas emissions from being emitted this contributes to improving on system
condition two (Repurpose for a Purpose, 2011).
On TNSF we rated KEEN in this area a 3.5 out of 4. This was due to the fact that
KEEN has a very sustainable brand and they are making a lot of changes and improvements
to their packaging methods. They also are making efforts to offset the effects their
packaging does have.
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Sustainable Value Circle
Sustainable value circle consists of recapturing waste material added to raw
materials or given value; starting from manufacturer, distributor, retailer, and consumer.
KEEN makes sure it dips its fingers in everything that it has direct control. KEEN’s partners
have to sign a huge agreement that makes sure that the partner agrees to falls in line with
KEEN’s values and mission. This is a venture agreement that looks over operations, owner
sourcing unit, environment and shipping. Luckily, KEEN does have a manufacturing plant
here in Portland and when they produce waste, such as left over leather, they use it to
make chair for the office. When the KEEN office gets boxes and plastics they re-use that to
ship out other things as well. All of the shoe boxes are recycled and actively involved in
Nike grind. Whatever and wherever they have direct control of its waste KEEN is very good
about creating a useful place or adding value. KEEN does realize that there are places
where it can improve. In the future it is an action item for them to come up with a
benchmark for current product line against materials and process database in order to
identify where improvements can be made. KEEN also has the sustainable appeal coalition
too that looks at the lifecycle of specific products and where it can make improvements.
KEEN has also found a way to create sustainable value circles within the countries that it
serves. KEEN has offices in Brazil and the company has found a way to source materials
and manufacture them in Brazil. KEEN plans to do this by Utilizing a “bill of materials” for
analysis and independent verification of product lines based on five general criteria;
chemicals, air emissions, water, energy and solid waste.
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Rating KEEN in this aspect we would give them a 3 as well. KEEN is doing a very
good job in trying to close the loop but we believe they would have better success if it were
to get customers involved in some way, he gap in the loop are the customers.
Sustainable Pricing
Product pricing is driven on a value proposition rooted quality, durability and
comfort. KEEN’s products are priced at the higher end of the mass market business (28,
Finnegan). KEEN does find it difficult to assess the degree to which consumers are willing
to pay a premium for products which they perceive as high quality, comfortable, long
lasting and with certain environmentally friendly features. KEEN has been able to position
its products as having one of the best quality and its sales continue to grow dramatically.
KEEN’s less expensive competitive products, create compelling yet durable product with a
reduced environmental footprint is only as successful as their ability to offer them within a
price range that our customers find acceptable. The reality is that government regulations
do not always ensure that the true external costs a product or process has on the
environment are reflected in the selling price. Competition and the demand for lower
priced by retailers and consumer have driven many productions overseas.
Sustainable pricing we would also like to rate a 3. Again getting customers engaged,
KEEN should offer huge discounts on eBay when KEEN is moving to the next season.
Patagonia has been very successful in targeting customers who still would like quality
items but cannot always afford the premium price.
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Sustainable Marketing Communication
As mentioned early, positioning plays a large role in getting the company’s brand
and product out in the market. In order to promote a company’s brand or product the use
of marketing communication is required if the company wants to “create a distinctive
identity for it in the minds of consumers” (Martin, 2012). Sustainable marketing
communication, on the other hand, are the “messages and media directed to any of an
organization’s stakeholders for the purpose of achieving the organization’s marketing and
sustainability objectives” (Martin, 2012). In order for a company’s marketing
communications to qualify as sustainable, they must meet the following conditions as
outlined in Dr. Martin and Dr. Schouten’s book “Sustainable Marketing:”
1. It contributes to triple-bottom-line value for the organization, that is, it helps build
financial, natural and human capital.
2. It takes a whole-system perspective and considers all the organization’s legitimate
stakeholder’s interests.
3. It facilitates transparency, accountability, and integrity in the organization.
4. It helps move an organization forward with respect to the 4 conditions for
sustainability as laid out in TNSF.
In KEEN’s case, the company uses a variety of sustainable marketing communication
channels including, Facebook, Twitter, their website, their blog, magazine ads, point-of-
purchase displays and various marketing campaigns such as Recess is Back and STAND. As
one can see, the majority of their marketing communications stem from online or digital
resources (i.e. their social media sites and video advertising), eliminating the need to use
profuse amounts of paper and resources in their marketing. KEEN also does not circulate a
catalog to its consumers, further emphasizing their efforts of adhering to the first three
system conditions of The Natural Step Framework.
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Although KEEN does do quite a bit of product placement in magazines (which
requires them to use paper materials), the magazines that they choose to use are consistent
with their core values and promote human capital within the triple bottom line framework
as they are typically health and environmentally focused. These magazines include SHAPE,
Women’s Running, Fitness, Your Health, CampingLife, Outside, Backpacker, Canoe Kayak,
Wend, Sierra as well as the Los Angeles Times and the Leave No Trace, a company
dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all
people, worldwide (“In the News,” 2011).
KEEN’s Hybrid.Life Campaign
One interesting aspect of KEEN marketing communications, however, is that they
tend to market their company’s brand philosophy more than their products (Ginn, et al.
2011). Not only do they have a various video clips presenting their dedication to the
outdoors, the environment and the community, they also have their Hybrid.Life campaign,
a campaign and brand positioning strategy that shows KEEN’s passion for all aspects of the
triple bottom line. This includes their Hybrid.Care program, a giving-back program in
which KEEN strives to “make a positive difference, give back to the greater community and
care for the environment” by donating their time and money to various non-profit
organizations that focus on social and environmental causes”(Ginn, et al. 2011). It is within
these organizations that KEEN positively instills their values and in turn the organizations
share with the world their experiences with KEEN.
This type of marketing communication, known as word of mouth or even third party
certification, credits KEEN in an effective way as someone else is telling their story. As
noted in Dr. Martin’s book, “Sustainable Marketing,” “one rule for establishing credibility in
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the marketplace in simple: let someone else tell your story” (Martin, 2012). Which exactly
what these US companies such as US Partners: American Whitewater (Advocates for the
preservation and protection of whitewater resources throughout the US), Leave No Trace
(Dedicated to the responsible enjoyment and active stewardship of the outdoors by all
people, worldwide), Kiva (Connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating
poverty by empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe), The
Conservation Alliance (Engage businesses to fund and partner with organizations to
protect wild places for their habitat and recreation values), Waterkeeper Alliance (a global
movement of advocates who patrol and protect rivers, streams and coastlines in North and
South American, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa), and finally Big City Mountaineers
(Mentors under-resourced urban teens through transformative outdoor experiences to
enrich lives, broaden horizons and instill critical life skills) are doing (“Hybrid.Care,” 2011).
Additionally, when talking with KEEN’s Care and Community Manager Chris Enlow,
he informed us that the Hybrid.Care program is one that helps to get people active and
outdoors, a mission that is similar to the company’s Recess is Back campaign. With this goal
in mind, how can KEEN be telling people to get go outside if those places do not exist
anymore due to a lack of conservation and sustainability efforts. Investing in these
organizations not only helps to spread KEEN story and establish their credibility but it also
helps to preserve and improve the environment that we live in. Chris explained that this
program is not only a way to provide for the people but for the environment as well, a
strategy that adheres to all four of The Natural Step Framework’s system conditions.
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KEEN’s Recess is Back Campaign
This same strategy is applied to KEEN’s most recent marketing campaign, Recess is
Back. As mentioned earlier, this campaign encourages people to rekindle one of the favorite
parts of their childhood and incorporate recess into their adult lives by taking at least a 15-
minute break from work to go outside” (Ginn, et al. 2011). This initiative not only helps
support KEEN’s human capital but also as mentioned previously it emphasizes KEEN’s
dedication to caring for the environment and outdoors. Since they are encouraging people
to go outside, they feel that they need to do their part in preserving the places where
people “play,” hence their efforts to enhance natural capital as well.
KEEN’s STAND Campaign
In 2007, KEEN created the STAND campaign, a program to “to inspire consumers to
think about how they could incorporate sustainability into their life” (Ginn, et al. 2011).
Through this program KEEN was about to award a total of $150,000 in grant money,
including three $25,000 grand prizes to those who they felt with the most “creative and
committed individuals who had a new idea or were implementing programs that would
contribute to the sustainability effort in some tangible way (Ginn, et al. 2011). Not only
does this emphasize KEEN’s dedication to sustainability but it was also a way for KEEN to
further their involvement in the community – strengthening the company’s brand
community and communities of purpose. Today these communities are furthered
strengthened through their blog, website and Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Evaluation Against TNSF
For the 10th aspect, Sustainable Marketing Communications, we scored KEEN a 3
out of 4 for a variety of reasons. First, KEEN proves to be successful in incorporating the
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majority of the 4 conditions that make marketing communications sustainable. They also
adhere to the triple bottom line. However, and although it may be unrealistic to have them
get rid of this form of marketing, KEEN spend a large chunk of their marketing budget on
print ads, an action that detracts from their observance to TNSF.
Final Recommendations
After evaluating all of the ten aspects of sustainability against the 4 system
conditions of The Natural Step Framework, we have determined that KEEN Footwear
deserved a B. We based this rating on a 4 point scale (i.e. A = 4 points, B = 3 points etc.) and
although a B is an above average grade, there is still room for improvement. Therefore, our
team has identified a variety of suggestions that will not only help KEEN improve their
ongoing sustainability efforts but could perhaps initiate and lead to new sustainable
strategies and tactics as well.
#1 Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics
There are several short coming about this 69 page document. First, it is only
available upon request. From our experience, it took a couple of weeks to generate a
response from KEEN. Also, this report card covers KEEN’s corporate social responsibility
audit for the period of January to December 2007’s operating year. In this report, they state
that they plan on addressing the committee’s remarks and suggestions for the second
report card. So far, though KEEN addressed some of the suggestions for their company
practices, they have not set a specific date to release a second edition of their internal CSR
report. Our suggestions are to update the CSR centered report card and make it more
accessible by either creating a website link that would provide the report card
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immediately, or, if KEEN is curious about who is viewing their report card, create an
electronic system that would collect the desired data from the requester and automatically
send the report card to a provided email address.
#2 Environments
We suggest that KEEN puts effort into making their Portland, Oregon headquarter
and manufacturing plants run on a more sustainable energy alternative. After they improve
energy resource conditions in Portland, then they can expand to requiring their production
and supplier partners to do the same. Since KEEN occasionally uses the production
facilities of other companies that are of higher scale (Nike, North Face, etc.), we propose
that they collaborate with these competitors to influence a change in the energy used for
production and the significant ecological problem of carbon dioxide emissions
transportation causes.
#3 Metrics and measurement of movement toward sustainability
Our recommendation is to show through ads and its yearly report of how much
sustainability has helped the company and show more tangible units that help put it in
perspective.
#4 Positioning and Market Segmentation
In regards to KEEN’s positioning and market segmentation, one recommendation
that we feel they could benefit by is perhaps KEEN could create a marketing campaign
targeted towards their lacking teenager/young adult segment. In other words, we suggest
that KEEN promotes a more teenage friendly line because “today, the only segment not
explicitly targeted is the fashion-fickle teenage market” (Finnegan, 2009). However, this
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market is extremely important as this age group is crucial in the world’s journey to a more
sustainable and eco-preserving lifestyle; this age group is the one that will have to deal
with the consequences of a poorly managed natural world and therefore, it is important for
them to recognize this problem now in order for them to contribute towards the solution.
With KEEN’s market reach and influence, educating and targeting the young adult segment
would not only improve their product mix but it would increase the sustainable knowledge
of these ever-so important consumers in hopes to improving sustainability efforts
worldwide.
#5 Global Issues
The major suggestions we have regarding global issues with sustainability are for
KEEN to assist ISA Tan Tec in perfecting their sustainable water purifying system. In the
future, this system could be a promising solution for people in under-developed nations to
clean water and KEEN would be affiliated with this. We also suggest that KEEN specifically
state exactly how they are affiliated with all of the international organizations in their
Hybrid.Care program. Their website currently provides the name and the purpose of the
organization but it lacks an explanation of exactly what KEEN does for them.
#6 Products and Services
In respect to KEEN’s products and services, we recommend that they have a
program where customers can bring in old shoes that are worn out of no longer fit and they
can receive a discount on a new pair of shoes. This is especially beneficial for parents who
buy shoes for their constantly growing children who grow out of shoes very rapidly. Have a
shoe repurposing or recycling program. Take apart the shoes that are returned and use the
materials to make new shoes. This is much like what Timberland does; it would help to
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reduce the amount of raw material needed in production and to reduce the amount of
shoes ending up in landfills. Use recycled rubber for the sole of the shoes. This is another
thing that Timberland is doing which is very innovative. This will decrease the amount of
man-made materials in the environment.
#7 Branding and Packaging
When it comes to KEEN’s brand and packaging we recommend they Reduce shoe
box size and packing material used in shipping. Take back shoe boxes and reuse or recycle.
Encourage customers to bring shoes back to be repurposed or recycled.
#8 Sustainable Value Circles
Come up with a shoe drive during sales days and offer small incentives to collect
used shoes to put into its production.
#9 Sustainable Pricing
During season changes, offer products at a discount though other sights like Zappos
and eBay.
#10 Sustainable Marketing Communications
When it comes to KEEN’s sustainable marketing communication efforts, we suggest
that they continue to strengthen their online and brand communities through their social
media. However, when it comes to transparency, we think that KEEN should update their
Sustainability Report as the copy that is currently on their website is from 2007. The
creation of this report card had the right intentions; however, in order to maintain trust
and transparency with stakeholders, it is essential for them to keep this information
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updated. Additionally, we think that KEEN could provide informational newsletter emails
to update their consumers and stakeholders. As of right now, they send out weekly emails,
however, they mostly focus on their new products. If they sent out an email once a month
updating and informing recipients of their economic, social and environmental progress it
could really strengthen the ties between KEEN and its consumers. Additionally, KEEN could
try to minimize the amount of print ads that go out and continue to build up their online
marketing efforts in order to conserve paper and other materials.
Overall Company Recommendation:
Finally, our team proposes that KEEN adopts The Natural Step Framework. To get
started we think that KEEN employees and management should attend a TNSF speaker
event or a TNSF workshop, take a TNSF eLearning course and study/adopt TNSF home
toolkit. Perhaps they could even incorporate this toolkit into their Recess is Back toolkit.
Once KEEN is fully educated and familiar with the steps and conditions of TNSF, they
should complete another sustainability audit and implement the steps into every aspect
that they analyzed as well as the company as a whole.
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Enlow, Chris. "KEEN Interview." Personal interview.
Finnegan, Carol A., Eric M. Olson, and Stanley F. Slater. "It's More Than Green To Be KEEN."
Marketing Management 18.5 (2009): 26-29. Business Source Premier. Web. 3 Dec.
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Ginn, Abbey, Chris White, Grace Adkins, and Suzanne Spencer. "Case Study #2: KEEN
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“Hybrid.Care.” KEEN Footwear – KEEN Company News. KEEN, 2011. Web. 7 Dec. 2011
http://www.KEENfootwear.com/us/en/Hybrid.Care.aspx
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<http://www.KEENfootwear.com/us/en/news.aspx>.
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