VF Corporation
Corprate Bias Ratings
Risk Level:
Summary:
VF fired a board member who disagreed with the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and The North Face denied an order to an oil and gas company. VF also denied a conservative shareholder from attending its shareholder meeting. The company covers the cost of "medically necessary transition-related care” for its employees and their children. VF brands frequently use their reputation and corporate dollars for ideological purposes and require employees to take "unconscious bias" trainings. VF does not have viewpoint protections for its employees. For these reasons, VF Corporation receives a High Risk rating.
Has denied service to customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.
North Face, which is directly owned by VF, denied a jacket order for the Innovex Downhole Solutions oil and gas company in 2020 (1). VF also dismissed board member Veronica Wu after an Axios leak of a year-old email revealed her disagreements with BLM (2). VF officers physically barred conservative investor and National Center for Public Policy Research member Justin Danhof, from a shareholder’s convention in 2018, despite the fact that he displayed the appropriate credentials for entry (3). VF brands also fired employees who did not receive a COVID-19 vaccine (4). VF Corporation received a score of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign. Among other requirements, this means the company has pledged to vet vendors for LGBTQ policies (5)(6).
Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.
VF Foundation does not discriminate against religious organizations in its charitable giving (1).
Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.
VF Corporation does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1).
Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.
VF Corporation joined the Color of Change-led #StopHateForProfit boycott of Facebook and its subsidiary platforms in 2020, halting its advertisements on social media sites in protest of an unspecified “bigotry” (1). The company also conducts “unconscious bias training” among employees (2). In 2022 and 2023, North Face hosted a “Summer of Pride” outdoor events series, featuring drag star Pattie Gonia, encouraging people to “come out” (3)(4)(5). Northface released a lineup of Pride merchandise on its website, which includes kids sizes (6).
Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.
VF Corporation covers travel and lodging expenses for employees getting an abortion (1). VF Corporation has a perfect score on the HRC’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index. This score indicates the company covers the cost of “medically necessary transition-related care” for its employees and their children (2)(3). The North Face donated $50,000 of corporate funds to the American Civil Liberties Union in 2020 (4). VF Corporation also fully owns Vans, which gave $50,000 of corporate funds to Color of Change (5). Supreme donated $500,000 to a variety of racial justice organizations, including ideological groups such as BLM (6).
Uses corporate political contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.
VF Corporation does not operate a PAC at this time (1).
All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
November 15, 2023
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