VF Company has already mapped the worldwide provide chains of 100 merchandise, together with Dickies overalls, Smartwool base layers and The North Face mountaineering boots. Now, the Denver firm studies important progress towards tracing 5 key supplies right down to the commodity stage by 2028.
The corporate disclosed in its Oct. 7 sustainability report that it has achieved 61 p.c traceability by quantity, the primary time it has shared this metric, for sure animal, plant and fossil supplies. Wool leads at 78 p.c; leather-based is subsequent at 67 p.c. They’re adopted by pure rubber (56 p.c), synthetics and cotton (each 51 p.c).
Buying extra “most well-liked and regenerative supplies” and lowering manufacturing volumes helped VF reduce Scope 3 emissions by 7 p.c in 2024 in contrast with 2023, although the footprint stays 19 p.c above a 2017 baseline.
“We will’t repair what we don’t know, and this work is vital to compliance,” stated Harsha Chenna, VF’s VP of world product stewardship. Traceability helps meet accountable sourcing insurance policies and regulatory compliance and displays dangers together with human rights, water shortage, deforestation and air pollution, he added.
5 key supplies
The corporate stated 5,003 metric tons of its 5 key supplies have been produced with regenerative practices in 2024. Among the many progress it marked for every materials in 2025:
- Cotton: VF traced 54 p.c throughout all tiers, aiming to supply all the materials from Australia, the U.S. or different areas with sustainable origins by 2026. Regenerative cotton represented 94 p.c of the corporate’s 2024 provide, up from 89 p.c the earlier yr.
- Synthetics: VF traced 56 p.c, from Tier 1 to five. Recycled materials accounted for 64 p.c in 2024, up from 48 p.c in 2023, surpassing its 2026 aim early. Ninety-five p.c of polyester and 80 p.c of nylon utilized by The North Face got here from preferable sources.
- Leather-based: VF traced 75 p.c from Tiers 2 to five. Timberland used 78 metric tons of regenerative leather-based in 2025, and 90 p.c of footwear tanneries have been Leather-based Working Group-audited.
- Rubber: VF traced 74 p.c of the pure provide chain. The North Face, Timberland and Vans collectively used 319 metric tons of regenerative rubber in 2024.
- Wool: VF traced 87 p.c throughout all tiers and counted 94 p.c ZQ-certified wool in 2024.
Traceability historical past
VF started devoted traceability work in 2017, piloting materials mapping throughout 10 merchandise. By 2021, it had expanded to 100 merchandise throughout 1,200 websites. The corporate seeks to map supplies right down to the commodity stage, counting on knowledge together with provider traceability, country-level threat maps and environmental and social threat metrics.
“Traceability continues to be very troublesome, requiring important time, assets and evaluation,” Chenna stated. VF’s groups in North America and Asia-Pacific report on to him.
VF carried out 1,070 provide chain audits in 2025. It publicly shares addresses and particulars for 1,214 suppliers by way of the Open Provide Hub, updating quarterly. Most suppliers are within the Asia-Pacific area, adopted by the Americas and Europe.
VF can also be advancing round design, which symbolize a tiny slice of gross sales, as is widespread for attire corporations with branded resale packages. Its The North Face Renewed secondhand model offered 96,000 gadgets within the U.S. and U.Okay. final yr. New The North Face merchandise, in distinction, promote within the a whole lot of thousands and thousands yearly.
Emissions targets, market challenges
Uncooked supplies drive 79 p.c of VF’s local weather footprint: polyester makes up 25 p.c, leather-based 19 p.c and cotton 18 p.c.
Validated by the Science-Based mostly Targets initiative, VF goals for internet zero by 2050. Close to-term objectives embody reducing Scopes 1 and a couple of emissions by 55 p.c and Scope 3 emissions by 33 p.c by 2030 from a 2017 base. The current inclusion within the footprint of refrigerants from HVAC methods in 1,127 shops in 2017 complicates year-over-year comparisons of general emissions.
VF has confronted scrutiny from watchdog group Stand.earth for lagging local weather progress. The corporate doesn’t seem on monitor to decrease provide chain emissions by 33 p.c by 2030, based on Stand’s Senior Company Local weather Campaigner Rachel Kitchin. Nonetheless, she praised VF’s elevated use of regenerative cotton, and tracing some supplies to Tier 5.
VF’s annual revenues dropped practically 4 p.c to $9.5 billion in 2025. The corporate’s 2025 sustainability report adopted workforce reductions a month earlier, together with the departure of Senior Director of Sustainability David Quass. Nonetheless, the sustainability work continues apace, based on the corporate.
