Worker Rights

VF Goals

  • Amplify the voices of in-scope supply chain workers through gender-proportional workplace committees by FY31. 
  • No worker in the VF supply chain pays for their job by FY27. 
  • In-scope supplier factories will implement gender-based violence prevention and reporting mechanisms by FY26. 
  • All in-scope supplier factories elevate and expand industry leading health and safety programs by FY26. 

Worker Rights

All workers across our supply chain are entitled to dignified treatment and equal opportunities for dialogue and advancement. VF’s Worker Rights team helps facilitate these dialogues and develops programs to advance worker rights across our global network of third-party suppliers. Our Worker Rights Social Impact Model establishes a unique approach to achieving positive impact for each worker rights-related salient topic. These standards go beyond foundational human rights compliance and require each program to incorporate stakeholder engagement, remote impact assessments and tailored training using digital tools and innovative solutions. Some of our key worker rights programs include: 
  • Freedom of Association — We support the right for workers to freely choose representation in the workplace and exercise that right without employer retaliation. If local laws and customs do not fully support these rights, VF engages with key stakeholders to remediate any practices standing in the way of upholding the rights of workers. 
  • Responsible Recruitment — VF stands against all forms of modern slavery. We actively collaborate with other businesses and organizations to eradicate forced labor from global supply chains, and our contracts with supplier factories explicitly prohibit them from using any form of forced labor or human trafficking. 
  • Gender-Based Violence and Harassment (GBVH) — In line with our Commitment to Eradicate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment, we empower workers to enjoy safe work environments that are free from GBVH. 
  • Child Rights — We strive to foster healthy childhoods and reject all forms of child exploitation and labor in global supply chains. In FY222021, we published our Child Rights Commitment and signed the ILO Child Rights Pledge to drive positive change for children around the world. 
  • Fair Wages — All workers in our global supply chain deserve fair compensation for their work. Our Global Compliance Principles require supplier factories to comply with legally mandated minimum wage standards or the prevailing industry wage, whichever is higher. 

Factory Compliance

The VF Factory Compliance program manages labor conditions in our global supply chain and builds relationships with our key sourcing partners. As the first line of contact with supplier factory management, the Factory Compliance team plays an integral role in executing VF’s human rights programs and strategies across the supply chain. The team actively collaborates with suppliers and internal business stakeholders to enhance and maintain effective systems for managing human rights risks.  

Factory Compliance team members are trained on VF’s identified salient human rights topics, including gender-based violence, harassment and freedom of association. Through the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Better Work Academy, members of the Factory Compliance team gain worker rights education, empowering them to help factory workers and managers collaborate and implement improvements together.  

VF implements a comprehensive audit program to evaluate factory working conditions, which plays a critical role in mitigating risks and addressing potential and actual human rights concerns. For further details on VF’s supply chain audit process, see the VF Factory Compliance Audit Procedure. 

Health & Safety

We hold ourselves to high standards for worker health and safety throughout our value chain. We work across the industry and with government agencies, NGOs and other key stakeholders to help shape industry standards for worker health and safety, including LABS, Nirapon and BRAC. 

  • LABS: The Life And Building Safety initiative supports suppliers to identify and remediate the risks related to fire, electrical and structural building safety and evacuation in factories. Graduation from LABS requires factories to 1) participate in LABS training modules, 2) complete the LABS risk assessment, 3) create and implement a corrective action plan (CAP) where needed, 4) establish a safety helpline for workers, 5) host site visits with LABS’ factory coordinators to verify remediation of all identified factory issues and 6) demonstrate capacities to maintain structural, fire and electrical safety, such as through a safety management system. Over 35 factories have graduated from LABS, with many more nearing graduation. In 2022, LABS expanded its footprint into Cambodia and launched in Indonesia in 2023, complementing their existing presence in Vietnam and India. 
  • Nirapon and BRAC: In Bangladesh, we continued our collaboration with Nirapon and their partner organization, BRAC, to support better health and safety conditions. In 2022, the number of factories enrolled in BRAC trainings increased from 36 to 44, covering nearly 139,000 workers. In addition, 82% of VF supplier factories in Bangladesh remediated 100% of identified health and safety findings from their initial CAP. The Nirapon program also requires these factories to develop and implement Safety Management Systems (SMS).