Timberland was founded in 1952 when Nathan Swartz bought the Abingdon Shoe Company. The family developed the first waterproof leather shoe in 1965 and named it Timberland. The first Timberland boot was introduced in 1975, and the company officially changed its name to Timberland in 1978. Today Timberland sells both footwear and outdoor apparel.

The company has long emphasized environmental and social responsibility:

• In 1992, the Timberland introduced its Path of Service program, offering employees 16 hours of paid leave to perform community service each year. This was expanded to 40 hours in 1997. It also includes a sabbatical program for long-term projects.
• Timberland joined Business for Social Responsibility in 1992.
• Timberland signed the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) environmental guidelines in 1993.
• Fortune magazine listed Timberland as one of the Best Places to Work in 1997. They have been named such every year since.
• Timberland celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1998 with a company-wide day of community service. This became an annual event.
• Business Ethics magazine named Timberland one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens in 2000.
• In 2004, Timberland employees were offered $3000 toward the purchase of Hybrid vehicles.
• Timberland's distribution center in Ontario, California generates 60% of its power through solar panels, reducing green house gas emissions by an estimated 240 tons per year.
• Timberland plans to be carbon neutral by 2010.
• In 2006, Timberland introduced new packaging and labeling to educate consumers about Timberland's environmental stance. Boxes were made of 100 percent post-consumer recycled material with soy-based inkes and no chemical glues.
• In spring 2007 Timberland added a green index to five shoes, giving a product-specific rating of different environmental factors.

Timberland's environmental impact label contains the following information:

• The average number of kilowatt hours (kWh) needed to make a pair of footwear, and the amount of energy generated from a renewable source.
• Timberland's no child labor policy,.
• The total number of hours volunteered by Timberland employees.
• Name and location of the factory where the footwear was made.

The green index provides a 0 to 10 rating on the following information:

• Rating on greenhouse gas emissions for the produdt.
• Rating on chemicals and solvents used in making the product.
• Rating of the use of organic, renewable or recylced materials in the product.