In this week's episode, we're stepping into the world of sustainable footwear with Kirsten Blackburn, Director of The KEEN Effect — the social impact division for hybrid footwear brand KEEN. Since its founding in 2003, KEEN has evolved into a leading global footwear company renowned for innovation, originality, and a strong emphasis on sustainability. Throughout the conversation with Gil, Kirsten, who has spearheaded environmental, social, and governance strategies across for-profit and non-profit sectors for over a decade, shares invaluable insights into KEEN's sustainability journey and its global commitment to ethical practices. Additionally, she sheds light on several actionable strategies to reduce the broader footwear industry's environmental impact.
In this week's episode, we're stepping into the world of sustainable footwear with Kirsten Blackburn, Director of The KEEN Effect — the social impact division for hybrid footwear brand KEEN. Since its founding in 2003, KEEN has evolved into a leading global footwear company renowned for innovation, originality, and a strong emphasis on sustainability.
Throughout the conversation with Gil, Kirsten, who has spearheaded environmental, social, and governance strategies across for-profit and non-profit sectors for over a decade, shares invaluable insights into KEEN's sustainability journey and its global commitment to ethical practices. Additionally, she sheds light on several actionable strategies to reduce the broader footwear industry's environmental impact.
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Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.
Chad Reed: I'm Chad Reed.
Hillary Langer: I'm Hillary Langer.
Gil Jenkins: I'm Gil Jenkins.
Chad: This is Climate Positive.
Kirsten Blackburn: We know that our fans care deeply about sustainability, and we know that they want to learn more about these issues. Eight years ago, when we started our PFAS journey, no one knew what PFASs were. In this recent study, detoxification of footwear was in the top three sustainability issues that fans cared about.
Gil: This week, we're excited to guide you into the world of sustainable footwear with Kirsten Blackburn, Director of The KEEN Effect. You might already recognize KEEN as the brand behind those iconic 'ugly sandals,' but their story goes much deeper.
During our conversation, we dive into the heart of KEEN's mission, exploring how their efforts drive conscious consumer choices and promote climate action within the shoemaking industry. Kirsten shared numerous passionate and practical insights during our interview, particularly as it relates to sustainability through the lens of consumer products & brands.
So, without further ado, here's an episode I hope will inform and inspire you a bit this summer when you’re walking around outdoors..
Gil: Kirsten, welcome to Climate Positive.
Kirsten: Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm happy to be here.
Gil: We're excited to have you on. I think full disclosure at the top I should tell you that I'm a KEEN brand enthusiast.
Kirsten: Amazing.
Gil: I think it started perhaps in my mid-30s when I entered dad mode, and I had some uncles who had those iconic KEEN Newports, the ugly sandals, I think you call them lovingly. Today I have a pair of Olive H2 Newports, camel, cool looking, and my son has the tie-dyes, so we love KEEN, and I figured I'd just get that out of the way.
Kirsten: Thank you. I appreciate that. Have you seen the mono ones, the single color?
Gil: No. We're going to check them out after we get off.
Kirsten: It moves from dad to normcore. It's pretty nice.
Gil: I aspire to that. I think it's fair to say that many of our listeners are familiar with KEEN Footwear, but I think it's also fair to say that less are probably familiar with the KEEN Effect, which is what you lead as a director of the brand's social impact division. Could you break down the mission of the KEEN Effect, and the work you and your team do?
Kirsten: Yes, totally. KEEN is a 20-year-old family-owned and run values-led company, and we quite literally have been doing the right things, and doing things differently since we were founded. The KEEN Effect is really our results of our values in action. We measure the KEEN Effect around three key pillars, protecting the planet. We're working to leave the world better than we founded, and to us that means investing in climate solutions, reducing our footprint, protecting key resources critical to a healthy planet. The second focus area of the KEEN Effect is promoting togetherness. KEEN believes in building a community of innovators and scientists and actionists to solve complex problems and do good together. We envision a place or a future where the outdoors is for everyone. Then lastly, our product bucket is consciously creating. There are hundreds of decisions that go into making a pair of KEENs, and we really feel like each one is an opportunity to rethink how we do it and to reduce our impact. Rethinking how shoes are designed, manufactured, distributed, and owned. The KEEN Effect is our values in action, and we're measuring impact around people, planet, and product.
Gil: Nice. Your history with KEEN, you really, as I understand, formalized the team back in 2014, and then you just came back a year ago, right?
Kirsten: Yes.
Gil: Almost to the day. Tell us about that journey past and present in KEEN, and maybe highlight a few of the initiatives or campaigns you're most proud of.
Kirsten: Yes, totally.
Gil: Then we're going to dig into some of those later, but just what comes to mind first.
Kirsten: Cool. Our team was formally established in 2014 or around there, but before that, there were dedicated individuals working on our corporate philanthropy program and our detox initiative. We really came together in 2014 when we decided that this is a core value of the brand, and we need some dedicated resources to it. There was a team of four at the time. Right about then, we were, and still are, Pinnacle members of the Conservation Alliance. We were attending one of their DC fly-ins, and hearing from the Obama administration that there was a hunger to protect wild places, and the administration could really benefit from having more of the general public aware of the benefits of public lands.
We took that home as a call to action, and we launched what still is one of my proudest moments at KEEN. That was the live monumental campaign. Basically, we crisscrossed the country in a 1967 or '76, I can never remember, broken down old Eleganza camper van that we painted yellow. We advocated for five national monuments, and we spent over a year. We had breaks, we did go home and see our family. Over a year, rallying fans and working with nonprofits on the ground, and just celebrating these places, we put together a short documentary film about it. We had a reception just outside the White House with hundreds of political officials, and it's where KEEN really cut its teeth and consumer advocacy.
You mentioned I left and came back. I actually left. I was so inspired by the power of business and the power of using business's voice to effect change that I went to help the Conservation Alliance create and build out an advocacy program. I was their director of advocacy for four years, and then I had twins at the beginning of the pandemic. You mentioned you have a son, kids change your whole life and your perspective. I took a year off to be with them, and them, and the pole of KEEN is just too strong.
I just really feel like KEEN's moment is now, and we just turned 20. We're figuring out who we want to be when we grow up, and we have so much potential to do the right thing and to encourage other brands and fans to join us. Yes, that's my short story in a nutshell.
Gil: Awesome. Well, let's dig in a bit on just footwear as a category and the impact it has on the environment. Could you talk, and you alluded to it with the third pillar, how does industry contribute on the issue here, and what are the ways that KEEN and other brands are focused on through the product lifecycle and overall carbon footprint, minimizing that impact? What do you think about when you get asked that?
Kirsten: Yes. I think first understanding the size and scope of the footwear industry, so there's different data. I think there's a consensus that the footwear industry produces about 22 billion pairs of shoes annually, which is a ton, right? KEEN is a very small portion of that total number. We're closer to 12-14 million, but we really feel like we have an opportunity to do things differently and to think about what our contributions to that 22 billion pairs means and is.
It's hard to quantify the entire industry's climate impact, but one study from 2018 suggested that it's 1.5% of global emissions comes from the footwear industry. Whether that's true or whether it's a 10th of that or four times that, we still really believe that brands are responsible for their own impact.
We actually ran a quantitative study, I guess it's still last month in May, of 600 current and prospective KEEN fans to understand their perspective on whose responsibility it was to act on climate. Then the overwhelming majority said that brands are the main actors when it comes to climate action, even ahead of governments and institutions, and individuals. That just solidified the fact that us as brands who make things should take ownership of what our impact is. There's a variety of different ways that brands and KEEN are thinking about, what our impact is and how we might address it. Shipping raw materials and components all over the world is tough, and it contributes to emissions, and the industry writ large is generally a very global supply chain.
KEEN is making a conscious effort to source, we call it local for local whenever possible, meaning we'll source footwear components in the manufacturing country. I should mention too that KEEN owns 30% to 40% of our manufacturing facilities, and so we have an opportunity to do things differently there.
I think another thing that the industry is thinking about, and that KEEN is certainly thinking about, is designing for sustainability. Footwear, as opposed to apparel, has to service a very specific physical function first. A lot of the components in footwear are very intentional, and there are a ton of them, like rubber for grip, [unintelligible 00:08:26] for comfort, and leather for durability. Sometimes all of these components can be at odds with sustainability objectives but are still necessary for the function of footwear. We just need to find a balance between all of these things.
When we need to use high admissive materials like leather, let's make sure that we're using, which KEEN does, environmentally preferred leather. We stopped sourcing leather from Brazil because it was too hard for us to prove with certainty that the leather that was coming out of Brazil wasn't contributing to deforestation of the Amazon biome. That was an important move for us. We weren't sourcing a ton of leather from Brazil to begin with, but we still made the choice because it was the right thing to do. Then once we have our leather, we make sure that we only tan at leather working group certified tanneries because these are certified tanneries that are committed to measuring and taking action to mitigate environmental impacts from water to chemical use.
Then thinking circular, so at KEEN, we know and believe that durability is sustainability, so how can we make footwear that lasts? You mentioned your kiddo has a pair of Newports. I always have at least two Newports at my house with twins, and you can just keep passing those things on.
Gil: That's right.
Kirsten: You can put them in the dishwasher too. Did you know that?
Gil: I didn't know that. I think it needs a quick run considering his outdoor activities. I'm going to transition to, we're going to go in the [unintelligible 00:10:00] a bit.
Kirsten: Sweet.
Gil: You're talking materials and inputs. I've read a lot about your work to eliminate, and I hope I pronounced this right, polyfluoroalkyl substances from footwear, PFAS, I prefer that, these forever chemicals, which are more commonly known. Can you talk about this journey, as I understand it, going back to 2014, where you discovered this was in your shoes and in your work, I don't know how many years now, to eliminate it. Just tell us about the journey and the work that you're continuing to do there to help others achieve this milestone of eliminating awful forever chemicals from the product manufacturing.
Kirsten: Thanks for mentioning it. Our commitment and success in eliminating PFAS is something that we're really proud of, and that we're earnestly and honestly trying to help other brands do as well. You mentioned 2014. In 2014, we found out that PFAS are these forever chemicals were all over our footwear. We got KEEN to the idea of PFAS from durable water repellencies or DWR. They're most commonly used in DWR components or materials because they repel water and dirt. That's the purpose of that function. We found that we were using PFAS DWR solutions. Then when we dug into it a bit deeper, we found that PFAS was literally hundreds of components from [unintelligible 00:11:32] to shoelaces just because it had become and is still prevelantly just what folks put on products because everyone thinks that every aspect of every shoe or every product should repel water and dirt.
We connected with organizations like the Green Science Policy Institute and Greenpeace to understand what PFAS were and why they were a nuisance and a harm to people and planet. It scared us, and so we made a commitment to start our journey to rid our supply chain of them. The first step was conducting an in-depth audit, like I mentioned, understanding where they were. Then we followed the precautionary principle, which basically says, "Use what you need." We decided that we probably didn't need PFAS or DWR in water sandals. You're going to submerge your foot into water, your foot's going to get wet. Not stopping the use of PFAS there eliminated 65% of the problem. Then we had to hire a chemist, and he spent 10,000 hours, close to a million dollars, in researching safe, effective, and affordable alternatives to PFAS.
Gil: What's an example of that?
Kirsten: There's the 3M, like an eco 3M version that we're using. Actually, this is a good plug for our green paper. In 2020, we published a green paper, which basically is our open sourced roadmap that walks through the steps we took to eliminate PFAS, shares the testing labs that we used, shares the safe, effective, affordable alternatives that we sourced, shares consultants that are still working on this issue that you can pay to help you on your journey. We published this green paper.
We just recently, a couple of months ago, published a revised version of it just because PFAS are everywhere and are all over the news now. Really, the intent is to share it as far as we can so other brands can, in the footwear industry or not, can join us on the journey.
Gil: How are other brands responding?
Kirsten: People are psyched. I think the beautiful thing about sustainability in this space in general is that we're all in it together. We are all living on the same planet, breathing the same air and drinking the same water. It benefits all of us to share our resources as much as we're all allowed and possible to do. People are congragulative. People are using it. It's great.
Chad: Climate Positive is produced by HASI, a leading climate investment firm that actively partners with clients to deploy real assets that facilitate the energy transition. To learn more please visit HASI.com
Gil: I want to come back to something you said, alluded to with the ways that KEEN engages with consumers to inspire them around sustainability. You mentioned the grassroots tour in 2014, and I think a recent survey. How do you think about the best practices for engaging consumer led sustainability marketing in 2023? What's working?
Kirsten: It's tough. Green washing is a scary thing. I think for KEEN, it's always been about transparency and honesty, in some instances, not sharing things until we're ready to, until we know that we've done the testing, and we can with confidence make a claim. I think what we know, again, from that study you mentioned and I referenced earlier, we know that our fans care deeply about sustainability, and we know that they want to learn more about these issues.
Eight years ago, when we started our PFAS journey, no one knew what PFASs were. In this recent study, detoxification of footwear was in the top three sustainability issues that fans cared about. We feel like we have a duty to educate them about the harmful effects of PFAS and other chemicals that are all in the supply chain.
Gil: You've got to make it fun too.
Kirsten: Totally.
Gil: It's a lifestyle, right?
Kirsten: Yes.
Gil: You can't-- Education, but engagement.
Kirsten: Yes, yes.
Gil: I guess building off of that, you alluded to this a few times, but I was reading your impact report, and normally companies have their value statements and they're going to talk about it. It can be tried often, right? I was struck by the simplicity, the elegance, the authenticity of how you describe these five markers of values and culture. I'll read them off and maybe you can build on them. Number one is live together. Number two, be original in everything. I love that. Number three, make original goods that last. Number four, do the right thing. Number five, create with conscience. How do you personally or your team, how does that come to life in the company? Because those are good words to live by. When you think about that, what comes to mind?
Kirsten: Yes. I get goosebumps when someone else reads them. They are powerful, and they are really meaningful. I think one of the superpowers that KEEN has is its people, and so those are really meaningful to KEENers or KEEN mates. We have various policies that allow us to live into our values. One is every full-time KEEN employee has 40 hours of volunteer leave. Annually, you can go for a week of backcountry trail work, or you can do what I do and volunteer in my kiddos' outdoor school. You get paid for it, and it's awesome. It creates a meaning that is really powerful.
That's one way.
Another way is, we find ways to put application behind the values. Consciously create or do the right things value. We have a consciously creative framework by which we build products, which we focus on harvest materials, sourcing ethically, detoxing our supply chain, and making to keep. We create frameworks to ensure that throughout our day-to-day work, we are living into the values.
Gil: Thanks for pulling on that bit. You've had a lot of experience leading ESG brand sustainability strategy. I'm curious, what's it like to grapple with how do you maintain that purpose and impact when you're in a fast-growing business and you're scaling globally? I'm sure that's probably something that is a persistent challenge. How's that going and what have you found works across cultures and borders, and keeping that purpose?
Kirsten: I think you just said it when you listed off our values. I think the fact that these values are what hold KEEN together create a North Star. Even when we're scaling and growing, we have a North Star to consciously create and to do good together. It helps us make the decision when sustainable materials are more expensive, but we are going to choose them because it's the right thing to do, and because it's the brand that we've built.
Gil: I'm going to put you on the spot here.
Kirsten: Uh-oh. [chuckles]
Gil: I read your LinkedIn profile description, and I was struck, [unintelligible 00:18:37] Company, executive acts with this many years experience. You wrote very simply, "I'm at home rallying business leaders to influence change and inspiring individuals to believe in a shared vision. I thrive bringing values to life for profit and nonprofit environments." Could you expand on that sentiment a bit? How did you arrive at that?
Kirsten: Yes. I think at its core, we're better together, and that I really believe that businesses have the power to effect change. I saw it, as I mentioned earlier, in Live Monumental, KEEN's fan-facing advocacy campaign. I saw it at the Conservation Alliance, rallying 270 businesses to care about wild places, and I'm seeing it again firsthand at KEEN. We have the ability to lead with values, and we know that purpose and profit are not mutually exclusive. I think that that's just what keeps me going and gets me excited to continue to do this work. The beauty of it all is every single person within the organization is inspired and motivated by that higher purpose. It's just continuing to do it.
Gil: I totally agree with you. I wonder if someone who's watching this too has seen-- I don't exactly want to overstate this backlash, but there's been some attacks against purpose, and impact, and brands taking stands.
Do you think this is temporal? What's your thoughts? You don't have to call any specifics, and it's certainly deeply depressing and unfortunate, I'm sure, to you to see some of these attacks on retailers and you're just trying to do the right thing. How are you thinking about that again in 2023?
Kirsten: Yes, it's a moment in time, it will pass. If you look at the younger consumer, Gen Z, this is what they are making decisions around. They're voting with their dollar. They will only work for and with purpose like companies, so I think it's a moment in time and it'll pass. We just need to believe in the future generation.
Gil: Well said. At the top, you talked about how KEEN is 20 years old now. I'm going to ask you to sort of put your crystal ball on. Looking ahead, what are some of the future sustainability goals and aspirations for KEEN, and maybe talk about the next few years or if you really want to go for it, what's going on in 20 years?
Kirsten: Holy cow, what is going on in 20 years? So much--
Gil: Just at KEEN. I know.
Kirsten: Who would've thought a pandemic would've happened a few years ago? Well, as shoemakers, we know the most meaningful thing we can do is reduce the impact of how we make shoes. We're going to lean into that, and we are going to chase some to be determined and announced climate ambitions. I think in 20 years, we will have reached our climate ambitions. We will be making unapologetically, comfortable, durable, and sustainable footwear, and we will be doing so without the use of harmful chemicals. 20 years into the future, maybe say 10, we'll be 30, I think we will have inspired a footwear industry to do the same.
Gil: Excellent. Let's turn to our hot seat. This is our sort of lightning round.
Kirsten: Oh boy.
Gil: There's no wrong answer, just first thing that comes to mind. The first few questions are fill in the blank. The most important advice I have followed is?
Kirsten: Purpose and profit aren't mutually exclusive.
Gil: The most important advice or feedback I have rejected is?
Kirsten: That's not in the budget.
Gil: The word or phrase I most overuse is?
Kirsten: Oh man, I should ask the team, but probably let's double click into that.
Gil: Either circle back or double click.
Kirsten: Yes.
Gil: Thank you for your honesty on the corporate jargon.
Kirsten: Or in my household, because I am often mitigating the craziness of twins, what's your plan.
Gil: Do you have a sustainability hero?
Kirsten: Yes. Kirk Richardson. He is a friend, a former colleague. He worked in the footwear industry for three decades at Nike. Had various roles at KEEN, including president. He came back to KEEN to help us solidify the KEEN Effect team because he believes so strongly in business's role in changing the world.
Gil: Cool. What advice do you give young people who want to work in sustainability? There's a lot of them.
Kirsten: Maybe three things. First, thank you. Second, vote at all levels of government. Vote with your dollars as well, and keep going. You are more powerful than you realize.
Gil: How do you connect with the restorative power of nature personally?
Kirsten: I'm lucky to live in Missoula, Montana, so I have accessible public lands everywhere. Trail running, mountain biking, gardening, camping, we do it all.
Gil: All that, Missoula offers.
Kirsten: All of it, yes.
Gil: Okay. I'm going to throw you off with this one. I was watching the KEEN Effect video, and I noticed and love the reference quote from Jerry Garcia when he was talking about preservation of the world's rainforest. His quote was, "someone has to do something, it's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us," and you're alluding to that in the in the mission statement. I also see that you have a limited edition sandal with Jerry's artwork. 1% of the proceeds donated to the Wilderness Society.
After that long windup, my question is, if you work at KEEN, do you have to pretend to like the dead? Is that a requirement?
Kirsten: It's definitely not a requirement, but it's a bonus.
Gil: Okay. There's definitely some deadheads that walk in the halls.
Kirsten: Definitely, yes.
Gil: Okay.
Kirsten: I think you might be if you have a pair of Newports.
Gil: It's just it's a little too much twing-twang, it's just not for me, I don't know. I love the whole ethos, it's just not for me, but I had to tease you a bit.
Kirsten: Appreciate your honesty.
Gil: This is overrated, underrated, or appropriately rated. Since you live in Montana, I think I have to ask this. Yellowstone, America's number one cable drama. Overrated, underrated?
Kirsten: I can't answer that. It's too close to home.
Gil: You have to answer. Overrated, underrated, appropriately rated?
Kirsten: Appropriately rated.
Gil: Floating the river.
Kirsten: Underrated.
Gil: Why?
Kirsten: More people should do it.
Gil: Agree. More Montana bison, just--
Kirsten: Underrated.
Gil: Yes, they're majestic.
Kirsten: Slow and steady. Here I have a Bison tattoo. You can't see it, but I have a small, tiny bison tattoo on my arm.
Gil: Awesome. They're everywhere, Montana. People don't realize that. Right? Still. Fly fishing, you didn't list that off.
Kirsten: Underrated.
Gil: Yes. It's hard though.
Kirsten: Requires patience.
Gil: Yes. I'm from Portland, Oregon. We have some pretty good craft beer. KEEN is headquartered in Portland. Who has better craft beer? Montana or Portland?
Kirsten: Missoula specifically.
Gil: Better than Portland? Which has more?
Kirsten: I think so, yes. We have some really great spots here. [crosstalk]
Gil: All right. To wrap it up, and its tradition, we ask for one last signature fill in the blank question. Finish the sentence, to me, climate positive means?
Kirsten: Showing up for the future.
Gil: Love it. Kirsten, thank you so much for joining us. Really fun to talk to you. Thank you for all you're doing.
Kirsten: Thank you. That was a blast.
Gil: If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please leave us a leave a rating and review on Apple and Spotify. This really helps us reach more listeners.
You can also let us know what you thought via Twitter @ClimatePosiPod or email us at climatepositive@hasi.com
I'm Gil Jenkins.
And this is Climate Positive.