VF Corp aiming for zero waste in distribution centers by end of 2021

By

Robin Driver

Published
Oct 27, 2021

VF Corporation, the Denver, Colorado-based parent company of brands including Vans, The North Face and Supreme, has released its fourth annual “Made for Change” sustainability and responsibility report, detailing its progress with ongoing environmental and social initiatives, as well as new targets for the coming years. Among the group’s most imminent goals, is its aim to achieve zero waste across all of its distribution centers by the end of the year.

 
72% of VF Corp’s distribution facilities are currently verified zero-waste, meaning 95% or more of their waste is diverted from landfill. The company is now working to ensure that 100% of its centers are certified zero-waste by the end of 2021.
 
Looking further ahead, the group is also aiming to tackle the issue of energy use at its facilities. Currently, 29% of the electricity used by VF in its owned-and-operated facilities comes from renewable sources, but the company is hoping to bring that figure up to 100% by 2025.

In terms of its products, VF highlighted that 75% of all cotton purchased by the group in 2020 was grown in the U.S., Australia or under a third-party sustainability scheme. Once again, the group intends to raise this figure to 100% by 2025, when it also hopes to have eliminated all single-use plastic packaging from its products.
 
Furthermore, having already completed the mapping of all leather and cotton sourced by its brands, VF is now aiming to have traced five of its key materials through 100% of the supply chain by 2027, in order to ensure greater traceability and transparency.
 
In addition to these objectives concerning its products and facilities, the company has also been busy with people-focused initiatives. The group supported 290,000 people through its Worker and Community Development (WCD) programs in 2020, making for a total of 550,000 since the initiative first launched. VF aims to have provided support for 1 million people through its WCD programs by 2025 and for 2 million people by 2030.
 
Elsewhere, the group pointed out that, as of the end of fiscal 2020, it has trained more than 375 leaders through its Workforce Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action program. And VF’s commitment to equity also includes more concrete action in terms of addressing equal pay, an issue that it hopes to work out before 2024, by assessing and resolving identified pay gaps for associates, sponsored athletes and influencers across the organization.
 
“VF is committed to fueling change in the apparel and footwear industries. We believe there is a reciprocal relationship between purpose and profit, and when we get it right, we create a virtuous cycle that positively impacts the world and our bottom line,” said Sean Cady, VF’s vice president for global sustainability, responsibility and trade, in a release.
 
“We’re proud of our work to date and know there is more work to do in this space independently and collaboratively with the global apparel industry and beyond,” he added.
 
In the second quarter ended October 2, 2021, VF reported earnings of $464.1 million on revenues of $3.2 billion. The company currently expects its full-year revenue for fiscal 2021 to total approximately $12.0 billion, reflecting growth of around 30% compared to $9.2 billion in 2020.