Our values in motion

Quality, Integrity, Health, Caring, and Pioneering—everything we do is driven by these values and helping create a better world as a business for good.

Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs) are commonly used to repel water on outdoor gear. But these compounds are suspected carcinogens and degrade very slowly in the environment, so we’ve switched to alternative chemistry that’s safe and performs just as well. Today, we are over 95% PFC-free.

Tanning leather is a dirty process. That’s why we source our hides from Leather Working Group-certified tanneries that use processes to reduce chemical use and the impact on our watersheds.

We’ve turned to nature to eliminate pesticides and biocides from going into the environment. Our footbeds are infused with probiotic technology that naturally breaks down odor in sweat without heavy metals or hazardous chemicals.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What set the company's motions in values?

  • At the moment the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean took place on December 26, 2004, we were getting ready to spend $1 million on an advertising campaign, which was a lot of money for a start-up company only a year and one-half old. In that moment of human tragedy, our leadership team chose to divert our entire advertising budget to non-profit causes that are making a meaningful difference in the world. Fifty percent of the money went directly toward disaster relief efforts in Indonesia with AmericCares, and the remainder formalised our giving program. Fast forward to today, we now have a fully functioning KEEN Effect department based on three pillars of Giving Back, Taking Action, and Reducing Impact. These three pillars are helping us drive change across our entire business from consumer awareness to employee involvement to supply chain detox.

What are KEEN's cumulative charitable impacts on the world since 2003?

  • KEEN has been active in global disaster relief, environmental conservation, humanitarian relief, public lands advocacy, grassroots volunteering, in-kind donations, and other creative partnerships with charitable non-profits across the world since we first gave back to southeast Asian tsunami relief in 2004. Since then, we have donated over $18 million in cash and in-kind contributions, volunteered thousands of hours of service to public lands stewardship, engaged in community development programs, pitched in on river clean-ups, deployed to sites of natural disasters to help muck and gut houses, and provide relief funding for natural disaster survivors near and far.

What is KEEN doing to reduce its impact on the environment?

  • Reducing our impact on the environment must adhere to a basic principle of Safe, Effective and Affordable. Everything that KEEN does should be safe for workers and the environment; effective by adhering to our high standards for quality, durability and performance; and affordable for consumers to purchase our products for a fair price. KEEN concentrates its time and resources on improving our chemistry, transparency, detoxification, worker welfare, and communities where we make our shoes.

How does KEEN ensure that the materials used in its products are safe?

  • We’ve taken action by identifying harmful chemicals in our supply chain, and seeking, testing, and deploying safe, effective alternatives. We have a restricted substances policy to ensure that our products meet all required global standards. We also voluntarily push beyond industry standards by using sustainable chemistry in our manufacturing processes and products. Examples include leather from environmentally preferred tanneries, probiotic technology for eco odour control, as well as PFC-free durable water repellency and non-wicking treatments.

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