VF Corporation has added new products to its online traceability tool which now includes over 40 items of apparel and footwear from brands such as Vans, The North Face and Timberland.

The unique full supply chain maps enable consumers to track the journey of their products from tier 4 raw material suppliers all the way to the finished item in store.

“Traceability gives us visibility into every aspect of our supply chain, identifying areas that need to be addressed and improved,” noted Shanel Orton, Senior Manager, Responsible Materials & Traceability at VF Corporation.

The VF traceability tool began life as a pilot in June 2017 and has evolved over the past 3 years into a unique transparency tool for an organisation which sources product in over 40 countries.

The company says that for a single Vans brand product, it identified 78 unique suppliers in the full supply chain, with data from these companies being collected, checked and verified through site visits.

Even though the giant apparel business has no direct business relationship with many of the companies that it chooses to investigate, VF says analysing the data generated from such mapping activities allows it to enhance legal compliance, substantiate product and raw material claims and improve workplace conditions, while reducing the impact of its suppliers on the environment.

“It’s not an easy process, given that our global supply chain spans across approximately 40 countries and includes thousands of suppliers, but we continually strive to achieve full traceability from raw materials to retail,” continued Orton.

Data is verified by its own sustainable operations team through factory visits where they interview workers, check transaction documents, invoices, purchase orders, etc.

Due to the vast scale of its companies’ portfolios, however, VF realises that tracking the journey of every single product wouldn’t be feasible.

The product traceability maps are available in full on the VF corporate website with simplified versions available for consumers on its individual brand sites.

Source: EcoTextile News