New England Footwear ready to run with Green Launching Pad help
09.05.11
"Let's face the fact that the way we make shoes by shipping raw materials like our leather rawhide to China and have them ship back finished products isn't sustainable in the long run," Clark said. "We estimate that an amazing 2.5 million tons of carbon are produced annually just to ship our shoes from China to our warehouses. We believe that making shoes closer to home using energy-efficient manufacturing methods will have a major environmental impact and be economically smart."
New England Footwear was one of six companies chosen from about 50 businesses and entrepreneurs submitted applications seeking to take part in the Green Launching Pad. An advisory board selected six business teams that will be supported during an intensive summer business accelerator program based on the Seacoast and aligned with UNH.
Clark is a UNH graduate and a 30-year veteran of the shoe industry. He previously worked for Nike, Converse, New Balance and Timberland. He plans to utilize the Green Launching Pad connections and resources to complete the latest stage of his bold plan to resurrect shoe manufacturing in the United States. He plans to hire three UNH interns for the project and will hire a full-time project manager to have a plan place by January 2012 for full-scale manufacturing.
Source: Seacoastonline.com