Northface, Flip Flops and Blue Jeans- The World's Largest Apparel Company

VF Corporation- The worlds largest apparel company
According to them "integrity never goes out of style"

Although we've now been living in this cold, dark place for 5 months, my husband has just now requested that we look into some winter boots for his cold toes. Now I've been saying since we've moved here, "Honey, really those sneakers you've had for 5 years have holes in them. You'll get snow in your shoes." But despite the several snowfalls we've trudged through this winter already, the need for winter boots has only now been his own idea.

So the hunt began a few weeks ago and sadly, Ted still has cold toes. When we went to Florida in December Ted picked up a pair of Reef flip flops as well. Interestingly enough, they are owned by the same company, VF.

The VF Corporation is the parent company (they own) of Northface and Reef as well as:

Lees Jeans
Riders Jeans
Wrangler Jeans
Eastpak
Vans
Jansport
Nautica
Majestic
Eagle Creek
Majestic
Rustler
Lucy
Kipling
Chef Designs
John Varvatos
Rustling
Red Kap
Napijri

Ultimately I'm still unsure if they are practicing fairly or not, but it seems hopeful!! What I do know is that they have published four or five different sets of guidelines stating they do not use child labor, forced labor and that according to the laws of each country, every worker will be paid no less than the minimum wage with benefits etc. (6 principles are posted below). Also that the factories they own (which does not include all) are subject to inspection by an awesome non profit called the :Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP), an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to ethical manufacturing throughout the world. (More info to come on them soon! They do awesome work. )
Also VF factories must comply with the 'Terms of Engagement' which states they will only do business with companies who abide by the laws in which they operate and who abide by their guidelines. This is good news.

VF states on their website under their 'corporate responsibility link' that ALL facilities that produce goods for VF including ALL of the factories, subsidaries, and affliliates whether they own them or not must comply with their Global Compliance Principles.
They state:

"While VF recognizes that there are different legal and cultural environments in which factories operate throughout the world, these Compliance Principles set forth the basic requirements all factories must meet in order to do business with VF."

"VF strongly encourages contractors, agents, and suppliers to exceed these Compliance Principles and to promote best practices and continuous improvement throughout all of their factories. These Global Compliance Principles or their equivalent must be posted in all major workplaces, translated into the language(s) of the employees."

Here are a few of their requirements stated from the Global Compliance Principles:
(the link:http://www.vfc.com/corporate-responsibility/global-compliance/terms-of-engagement)

Principle 1 - Legal and Ethical Business Practices: VF Authorized Facilities must fully comply with all applicable laws of the countries in which they are located including all laws, regulations and rules relating to wages, hours, employment, labor, health and safety, the environment, immigration, and the apparel industry. Employers must be ethical in their business practices.

Principle 2 - Child Labor: No person shall be employed at an age younger than 15 (or 14 where consistent with International Labor Organization guidelines) or younger than the age for completing compulsory education in the country of manufacture where such age is higher than 15. All VF Authorized Facilities must observe all legal requirements for work of employees under 18 years of age, particularly those pertaining to hours of work and working conditions.

Principle 3 - Forced Labor: VF Authorized Facilities will not use involuntary or forced labor - indentured, bonded or otherwise.

Principle 4 - Wages and Benefits: VF recognizes that compensation packages vary by country. All VF Authorized Facilities must compensate their employees fairly by providing compensation packages comprising wages and benefits that, at the very least, comply with legally mandated minimum standards or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher, and shall provide legally mandated benefits. Employees must be fully compensated for overtime according to local law and each employee must be provided with a clear, written accounting for each pay period.

Principle 5 - Hours of Work: VF Authorized Facilities must ensure employees' hours worked shall not, on a regularly scheduled basis, exceed the lesser of (a) the legal limitations on regular and overtime hours in the jurisdiction in which they manufacture or (b) 60 hours per week including overtime (except in extraordinary business circumstances). Employees must be informed at the time of hiring if mandatory overtime is a condition of employment. All employees will be entitled to at least one day off in every seven-day period.

Principle 6 - Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining: VF Authorized Facilities shall obtain and comply with current information on local and national laws and regulations regarding Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining. No employee shall be subject to harassment, intimidation or retaliation in their efforts to freely associate or bargain collectively.

So, I'm NOT saying yes VF is 100% free of using slave labor. Again, perhaps they are trying to be. Or perhaps some of the factories are and others are not. But we can tell that they have made awesome efforts to set high standards and only do business with other businesses who operate under high standards. I will do more research this week to see what else I can find about their history, any law suits, etc.