Inside VF's new sustainability direction

VF公司在几乎每个人的衣橱里都有25个品牌，包括Timberland、Vans、Wrangler、Lee、Nautica、North Face、Eastpak、Jansport和一些其他. 公司的新战略,为了改变影响这些品牌产品的生产和销售方式，以及材料的来源。

The apparel and footwear industry is a tough one. We all want gear that meets our needs and makes us look good, but we also want to feel as if our stuff causes no human or environmental harm. VF’s new strategy aims to move consumers closer to that goal by focusing on circular business models, using its vast scale推动积极的变革。

在过去的一年里，我与VF就这一策略进行了密切合作。虽然我对它很投入，但我也非常熟悉它的广度和细微差别。

战略推动商业价值。考虑到其所需材料的数量，中国致力于应对气候变化和从道德上采购材料将产生巨大的积极影响。它还让更多的日常消费者通过购买商品来支持良好的商业实践。这是我们真正开始看到变化的地方。

以下是每个领域的一些令人兴奋的含义：

一。循环经营模式

The strategy's focus on circular business models captures new business value. VF hasn’t put forth a mere sustainability strategy, but a new business strategy.

We’ve moved away from a world where sustainability can be just a philanthropic add-on and towards where human rights and natural resource limitations become drivers that push us to find better ways to do things. Corporate efforts to increase sustainability that also maximize business value are the Holy Grail. VF’s pursuit of circular business models is a bold initiative that combines business sense with responsibility.

VF hasn’t put forth a mere sustainability strategy, but a new business strategy.

快速时尚成倍地增加了人们翻衣柜的速度。百万吨衣服每年都有垃圾填埋场。不需要花太多的时间就可以意识到这会消耗多少自然资源，造成多少浪费。

To slow or even reverse this trend, many apparel brands have begun exploring circular business strategies, which means moving away from the linear "take, make, use, waste" model and towards a circular model where articles of clothing and even zippers or fibers are kept in use. Patagonia has led the way on repair, Houdini has explored rental, Eileen Fisher has been upcycling and H&M has been working on materials recycling, for example.

VF is one of the first mainstream brands to tackle rental and resale (known as recommerce) as a way to vastly decrease resource use and waste. In this pursuit, VF is also developing a new business opportunity.

Apparel rental and resale is commonly a third-party business, not usually done by a brand itself. But VF is making a big move to capture these markets — turning around more products, without having to make more goods. Where Patagonia said, "Don’t buy this Jacket," VF is saying, "Buy the pre-owned version from us, for cheaper."

这也有利于质量控制；通过租赁和转售自己的产品，VF获得有关产品磨损情况的数据，这将导致产品寿命更长。

2. Scale for Good

VF的目标是以身作则，尤其是在解决问题上气候变化and by reducing the impact of materials.

巴塔哥尼亚已经率先修复，胡迪尼已经探索出租，艾琳费舍尔已经升级。

总的来说，VF对可持续材料的关注是鼓舞人心的，原因有二。材料是公司环境影响的最大来源之一。根据VF的计算，材料可能占其环境影响的90%，更不用说在将纤维变成织物然后变成衣服的过程中产生的人类影响了。承诺从供应链的最开始开始-通常指植物或动物（或废弃材料，如塑料瓶and轮胎). 最后是clearly stated targets这就支持了。在20个有时限的目标和指标中，近一半与材料有关。

根据世界野生动物基金会和合作伙伴的计算世界上只有少数几家公司的棉花产量超过了VF。在一个创新的试点项目中，Wrangler正与棉农合作，改善耕作方式，开发自然碳汇。

除了采取积极的立场气候变化，VF正在加入大公司的行列science-based targets. This is a build on its previous commitment to power all its owned and operated facilities with 100-percent renewable energy by 2025 (by the way, VF owns and operates 30 manufacturing facilities, unusual for an apparel company).

三。运动创造者

VF的“运动制造者”目标是将消费者、合伙人及其品牌定位为服装和鞋类所需变革的主角。

像Wrangler这样的品牌正在使来源可靠的产品价格合理，而Vans则在滑板公园投资以促进社会包容。

更多的消费者和员工希望产品与其价值观相一致。“运动创造者”是VF向人们挑战的方式。VF的每一个品牌都有自己的身份、历史和消费者子集，它们围绕着环境和社会价值观而联系在一起。随着倡议的不断展开，这些倡议将采取多种形式。在这一领域的一端，像牧马人这样的品牌正在使来源可靠的产品价格合理，而货车则在滑板公园投资，以促进社会包容。

目前尚不清楚VF将在多大程度上“授权（其）消费者在2030年前过上更加积极和可持续的生活”。同样，支持蓬勃发展的生活方式并有助于实现可持续发展目标的“有效干预措施”尚未公布。

2019年，VF基于科学的目标将被设定，并将公布“有影响力的干预措施”。仍然有机会进一步确保整个供应链上100万工人的增长和福祉。

要实现真正的社会责任和环境责任，这个行业还有很长的路要走。所有公司都有自己的角色。路缘石破土而出environmental profit and loss计算。H&M一直在努力寻找新的方法来重新利用和回收纺织品。C＆A及其基金会已启动时尚的好,a multi-stakeholder platform to improve the industry. Now VF adds itself to the mix of circular innovators with rental and recommerce, and aims to raise the bar for apparel.