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Traceability / New Initiatives

VF advances, Kontoor Partners to Improve Tools

VF Corporation has met its own deadline on traceability maps for over 100 products, even as Kontoor Brands partners Arvind Limited and Cone Denim have agreed to share data currently not factored into the Higg MSI.

By

6 March 2022

 3 minutes
Long Story, Cut Short
  • VF set a new goal of tracing five of VF’s key materials through 100% of the supply chain by 2027. The company has already completed the mapping of all leather and cotton sourced by VF brands.
  • Arvind Limited and Cone Denim will share key data from the denim dyeing process that is currently not factored into the Higg MSI. The updated Higg MSI tool will be rolled out for all apparel brands by summer 2022.
VF advances, Kontoor partners to improve tools
Ranked Well The 2020–21 scorecard of KnowTheChain project ranked VF 6th out of 37 companies with an overall score of 62 out of 100. VF Corporation

The demand for traceability on part of textiles-apparel companies has been mounting with the calls for a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that began two years ago. There have been two noteworthy developments on this front in recent times.

  • On 31 January 2022, VF Corporation announced that as of December 2021, "we have traced over 100 products, and produced traceability maps for many of our flagship products from the Timberland Waterproof Boot to the Jansport Big Student Backpack and The North Face ThermoBall Eco Hoodie."
  • Kontoor Brands, Inc on 2 February, announced a new supply chain coalition to improve critical data incorporated into the Higg Material Sustainability Index (MSI). So, Arvind Limited and Cone Denim will share key data from the denim dyeing process that is currently not factored into the Higg MSI. The updated Higg MSI tool will be rolled out for all apparel brands by summer 2022.

The VF Corp backdrop: In its last Made for Change annual sustainability and responsibility report on 26 October 2021, VF Corporation had claimed: "VF set a new goal of tracing five of VF’s key materials through 100% of the supply chain by 2027. The company has already completed the mapping of all leather and cotton sourced by VF brands."

More or less on track: In January 2021, VF Corporation disclosed its tier-1 through tier-4 supplier information in a consolidated, downloadable file, providing an unprecedented level of industry transparency. At that time, it had promised: "VF has prioritised traceability and invested in an initiative to map 100 of its brands’ most iconic products by December 2021. The company currently has 46 product maps published online."

VF's rankings: The 2020–21 scorecard of KnowTheChain project ranked VF 6th out of 37 companies with an overall score of 62 out of 100. Though the overall score was not very high, VF scored 88/10 in Traceability and Risk Assessment with its Traceability and Supply Chain Transparency rated at 100/100.

The Arvind-Cone initiative: The announcement lacks details. Except for a handful of quotes, the statement issued by Kontoor did not include anything, especially timelines and mechanisms.

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Young India Fashion Survey 2025
Full Disclosure

VF Corp (VF), one of the world’s largest apparel companies, ranks 6th out of 37 companies, disclosing more information on its forced labor policies and practices than its peers on all themes except Worker Voice. Compared to 2018, VF improved its rank by two places. This is because it began disclosing building capacity for its first- and second-tier suppliers to improve their social performance, partnering with the International Organization on Migration’s (IOM) Corporate Responsibility in Eliminating Slavery and Trafficking initiative (CREST), improving its supply chain transparency, and outcomes of its supplier selection process. Notably, VF discloses a supplier list that includes the facility names and addresses of some of its third- and fourth-tier suppliers. In relation to addressing the risks of alleged Uyghur forced labour, after having taken down an initial statement, VF discloses that it does not “source any products or materials from suppliers located in Xinjiang,” but discloses no details on how it ensures this.

Traceability Map

"It starts at a farm, ranch or a facility where raw materials used in our products are grown, extracted and sourced. Included in this process are high-impact goods such as cotton, wool, leather, rubber and polyester. The purpose is to understand the origins of these raw materials that enables us to identify how these materials are processed and the impacts they have on the environment and the people who live in communities supporting these processes. Through supplier outreach, surveys and continued research, we are gaining a better understanding of our entire supply chain. With this data, we have created Traceability Maps to understand where our suppliers are operating, identify areas of concern and address them – for example, if they are in locations at high risk for deforestation, or if there is an opportunity to recycle water in a more sustainable way. These maps also incorporate data on human rights, furthering our commitment to people."

 
 
  • Dated posted: 6 March 2022
  • Last modified: 6 March 2022
 
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