VF Corporation’s new corporate sustainability and responsibility report shows how the apparel, footwear, and accessories company has been expanding recommerce and rental initiatives to keep products in use as long as possible.

The company, whose brands include the North Face, Vans, Timberland, and Kipling, has a goal of leading the large-scale commercialization of circular business models through recommerce and rental initiatives by 2030. “We Are Made for Change: Sustainability & Responsibility Report 2018” published on Thursday details progress so far.

Recommerce and rental have become two main focus areas for VF Corporation. In an interview last year, vice president of global corporate sustainability Letitia Webster described the challenges involved.

“The entire economic system is not based on taking products back from consumers,” she said. “Our distribution centers aren’t set up to take products back, wash them, clean them, repair them, and put them on an e-commerce site to sell them again.”

Despite these hurdles, VF Corporation sees competitive advantages in pursuing recommerce and rental initiatives. Webster said that retail stores with takeback programs see increased foot traffic and higher average sales. Rentals allow customers to get maximum value out of products while avoiding waste, the company says.

VF Corporation reported that:

In 2018, the North Face launched VF’s first recommerce platform called the North Face Renewed. VF said that the platform has enabled 37,777 pounds of apparel in the US to be used again by consumers.

Kipling brand introduced a rental pilot this year called Rent Your Kipling in partnership with startup Lizee in London to provide travelers with a Kipling luggage set.

The North Face also launched a European pilot with the Library of Things to develop a rental program for camping gear, luggage, and other equipment. VF Corporation noted that customers can borrow professional camping equipment starting at £2.20 per day.

The company calls recommerce and rental successful business models. “US apparel resale, for example, has grown 21 times faster than the retail apparel market and is expected to grow to $51 billion by 2023,” the report said. “Meanwhile, apparel rental is quickly becoming a first choice for many consumers.”

Science-Based Targets Set

Also on Thursday, VF Corporation announced new science-based targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative that include an absolute reduction of Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 55% by 2030 from a 2017 baseline year, and an absolute reduction of Scope 3 GHG 30% by 2030, from a 2017 baseline focusing on farm-to-retail materials, sourcing operations, and logistics.

“This work sends a strong signal to the apparel sector about the degree of transformation needed to truly address emissions across global supply and distribution chains and multiple brands,” commented Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust.

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