Here’s a product that gives new meaning to the phrase, “tread lightly.” The Timberland Company has unveiled the Earthkeepers 2.0 boot, designed to be disassembled and recycled rather than discarded at the end of its product life.

The company says consumers who buy the Earthkeepers 2.0 boots can simply return them to any Timberland store for recycling at the end of their use. Timberland says it will launch a “second life” program to pilot reusing components from the returned boot to make a new pair of shoes.

Eighty percent of the Earthkeepers 2.0 boot can be recycled or re-used, including:

• Leather that is refurbished at the company’s factory in the Dominican Republic
• Green Rubber soles that will go back to a Green Rubber factory in Georgia for recycling. Green Rubber’s patented D-Link technology effectively breaks down tire-rubber so that it can be recycled repeatedly back into new products, including Timberland outsoles
• Removable metal hardware that can be reused in new footwear or recycled
• Polyester lining that can be recycled into new polyester products

The Earthkeepers 2.0 boot, part of a broader Earthkeepers collection, will be available to consumers in Fall 2009.

“We can be deliberate about designing the ‘greenest’ footwear out there — but if at the end of the day those products still end up in a landfill, we haven’t really closed the loop on our environmental responsibility,” Brian Moore, Timberland’s VP of Men’s Product, said in a statement. “With Earthkeepers 2.0, we have an opportunity to influence the environmental impact of our products in a way we haven’t before – after the point of purchase.”