A September 2025 Bureau of Investigative Journalism report connected a Fujian factory linked to alleged coercive labor transfers with materials shipped to Fulgent Sun’s Vietnam operation, which makes shoes for VF brands. VF said its direct relationship with the Fujian factory ended in February 2024, and that shipments were raw-material consolidation; it also said it had records showing the materials did not enter VF products but declined to share
VF told TBIJ its direct relationship with the Fujian factory had ended in February 2024, but it stood by its purchases from Fulgent Sun in Vietnam, which continues to ship to the US. It also initially denied that Sunshine Footwear could even make shoe parts, before conceding the Fujian plant shipped parts directly to Vietnam. Although some of these shipments mention specific brands, including Vans, VF said the factory had only served as a “consolidator of raw materials” from other Chinese suppliers for export to Fulgent Sun in Vietnam.
VF Corporation said it had begun a reorganization of selected commercial functions globally as part of its previously announced turnaround strategy. The company did not disclose the number of employees or departments affected. The report places the cuts after earlier layoffs and the planned Martinsville distribution-center closure, which was expected to affect more than 242 employees.
Vans and Timberland owner VF Corporation is cutting more jobs this month, FN has learned.
In a March 24, 2020 response, North Face/VF Corp said neither VF nor its brands had a relationship with Nanjing Synergy Textiles, disputing an Australian Strategic Policy Institute report that said The North Face did. VF said it opposed forced labor and would end relationships with companies that refused to remediate human-rights violations.
We continuously work to improve supply chain transparency. Over the past several years, we enhanced our cotton traceability efforts to better identify third party suppliers that may be complicit in human rights abuses. We have ended, and will continue to end, all business relationships with any company that refuses to remediate human rights violations when they occur.
In a February 20, 2026 disclosure, VF said four suppliers named in Transparentem reports were in its supply chain and that it engaged with them on corrective-action plans, government advocacy and broader industry efforts. VF also described its 2021 Your Voice Matters program, while acknowledging that work to improve worker conditions remains ongoing.
VF Corporation is dedicated to operating our business with the highest levels of ethics and integrity. Upholding human rights, particularly worker rights in our supply chain, including the rights of migrant workers, is a core priority in Taiwan and in every country where we operate. In our ongoing efforts to protect the rights of migrant workers, VF launched a program called Your Voice Matters in 2021 which informs migrant workers and factory management about their rights and responsibilities. While this factory level program has improved knowledge retention and recruitment and employment practices, the work is ongoing. We continue to collect feedback from migrant workers about their conditions and challenges and simultaneously prioritize engagement in broader, systemic change across the industry.
OpenSecrets listed $1,020,000 in lobbying for VF Corp for the 2021 cycle. The supplied evidence gives the amount and year but does not identify who conducted or funded the lobbying.
OpenSecrets reported $16,507 for the 2022 cycle, attributing the money to individuals associated with VF Corp and their immediate family members—not the company itself. It listed contributions to candidates, party committees, leadership PACs and other groups; the evidence says organizational contributions were zero.
NOTE: The organization itself did not donate, rather the money came from the organization's individual members or employees or owners, and those individuals' immediate family members. Organizations themselves cannot contribute to candidates and party committees. Totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.
OpenSecrets listed $690,000 in lobbying for VF Corp in 2022, ranking it 987th among 9,073 organizations. The same record listed $1,020,000 for 2021; the evidence does not specify the lobbying issues or activities.
Elite Apparatech alleges VF Outdoor, VF Services and VF Corporation refused in August 2023 to accept or pay for 206,002 finished garments ordered for The North Face, leaving it with about $2.23 million in unsold goods. VF cited possible Xinjiang-linked cotton; Elite disputes the concern and says tracing demands changed. It seeks damages; the case’s outcome is not provided.
VF declined to accept the garments after raising concerns that the cotton supply chain could be linked to Xinjiang, China — a region subject to U.S. forced-labor import restrictions — under its internal sourcing and traceability policies, the complaint says.