Rethinking how we use raw materials is critical to achieving our sustainability goals. Can we turn discarded plastic bottles into t-shirts, bio-based fibers into leathers, and make synthetics as eco-friendly as naturals? Yes, we can and we are.
Commit to transitioning our top nine materials (by spend and impact) to regenerative, renewable, or recycled materials by 2030
Reduce the average impact of our key materials by 35% by 2025
Source 50% of nylon and polyester from recycled materials by 2025
Purchase 100% of cotton grown outside the USA or Australia under a cotton-growing sustainability scheme
“Materials account for 42% of VF’s total CO2 impacts—our largest single impact, and greatest opportunity area across the business.”
– Beth Jensen
Director, Sustainable Materials & Products, VF
The extraction and manufacturing of raw materials are VF’s single-largest environmental impact. Recognizing that our material choices will drive the achievement of our science-based targets, we’re using data to inform our raw material choices, prioritizing materials with lower—or even positive—carbon impacts. Our Global Innovation Network focuses their research and development on lower-impact material options.
Reducing or eliminating our impact is far from straightforward, not least due to the fact that there are many trade-offs to consider. That’s why our new sustainable materials vision includes a comprehensive approach to sourcing more sustainable materials.
The new sustainable materials vision is focused on the following three key areas:
Across our brands, we seek to source the most sustainable materials available that meet and exceed the demands of our consumers. One option is not the solution for all product requirements.
For VF, this means using responsibly sourced natural materials, as well as identifying innovative ways to recycle and reuse the synthetic materials already out in the world. It also means exploring innovative crossover solutions, such as natural alternatives to traditional synthetics or recycled natural materials.
We’re exploring ways to use innovative natural materials in our products, achieving the high performance our consumers expect with a reduced environmental impact to our planet.
To reduce environmental impacts, we’re shifting toward the use of recycled synthetic materials at scale, while also exploring bio-based alternatives to traditional petroleum-based synthetic materials.