Innovation at VF: Woven into everything we do

At VF, innovation is about much more than delivering a new product, fabric, or style. For us, innovation is a holistic process, one that touches every aspect of our enterprise - branding, supply chain management, global expansion, even our corporate citizenship initiatives. By weaving innovation into everything we do, we are able to deliver a constant flow of new products that fit the ever-changing lives of our consumers.

Innovation Case Studies:

JanSport Biovent^TM: Body-friendly backpacks
Performance meets comfort with the JanSport® brand's new Biovent™ technology.  Inspired by the shock-absorbent materials used in the soles of athletic shoes, our designers developed lightweight molded foam shoulder straps and back panels that conform to your body, distributing heavy loads to help prevent back pain for anything from a weekend camping trip to a journey across continents.  Resilient EVA foam throughout the back panel creates a breathable channel that moves air up and away from the body, keeping the shoulders and back cool, while angled vent holes in each strap provide optimal ventilation.  The Biovent™ system can be found in JanSport's new limited-edition Outdoor 2.0 collection and will also be featured in JanSport's Spring 2010 collection of outdoor daypacks.

The North Face Rucky Chucky:  Blazing a new trail
Named after the famed river crossing on the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, the Rucky Chucky™ running shoe confirms The North Face® brand's position as the one true endurance brand. With four patent-pending technologies, the Rucky Chucky helps athletes explore the outer reaches of endurance. The medial-posted Thrust Chassis™ delivers a supportive foot plant over varied terrain. The underfoot SnakePlate™ is shaped like an undulating switchback trail, providing a protective-yet-flexible shield against trail debris. Incorporating mountains of research, the Rucky Chucky is already being heralded as a performance breakthrough in trail endurance running - and a product that will help propel The North Face brand to the summit of the endurance running category.

Lee Natural Fit: Research-driven design innovation
Instantly Slims You™ is more than a tagline for our women's Lee® Natural Fit jeans - it's the result of research-driven design innovation. Through structured focus groups, we knew that consumers were concerned about the appearance of their ‘abs.' Extensive fit testing and 3-D body scan research on more than 10,000 women identified 200 body points relevant to fit. Next, our designers worked to produce a re-engineered jean that provides extra tummy support, with side seams moved forward to create the illusion of longer, more slender legs and a no-gap waistband that ensures comfort. The result is flatter-looking abs, slimmer silhouettes and grateful women customers.

Reef Redemption: Renewing the Globe
Created to achieve a smaller ecological footprint, the Reef® brand's unique Reef® Redemption initiative offers consumers fun and fashionable products that incorporate renewable, recycled and organic materials whenever possible. Organic cotton, recycled PET and Redemption Foam^TM - a material made from plant cellulose - are among the environmentally friendly substances from which Reef® Redemption footwear and apparel items have been created. Sandals that use Reef® Redemption technology include the men's "Machado Classic," which features a LITE^TM (L.ow I.mpact T.o the E.nvironment) leather upper, Redemption Foam, recycled PET and a recycled car tire outsole, and the women's "Magnoli," which includes a woven recycled PET (polyster) strap and toe post and a partially-recycled footbed and outsole. All Reef® Redemption sandals also incorporate the use of water-based cements.