Transforming Supply Chain Strategy, Relationships with Farmers and Impact Reporting to Bring the First Regenerative Rubber to Market

VF Corporation has become a leader in regenerative rubber sourcing. The brand’s success in bringing the first regenerative rubber shoe outsole to market can be attributed to innovative supply chain practices, transformed relationships with farmers, and novel reporting technologies. At the heart of this exciting breakthrough is Vans’ willingness to innovate in metrics, reporting, and verification of regenerative agriculture systems, along with its openness to radical collaboration with a variety of stakeholders. The brand recognizes that regeneration requires thinking beyond soil or carbon; it requires recognizing and working with whole systems, from farmers to off-takers. In partnership with Terra Genesis, the brand’s leadership and commitment to regeneration as a socio-ecological process is driving change within the wider footwear and global rubber industries. Their collaboration and leadership in the Regenerative Rubber Alliance has brought in new apparel, footwear, food, and beverage brands, governmental officials in Thailand, as well as a rapidly growing network of smallholder farmers playing a critical role in addressing climate change, social inequality, and the biodiversity crisis.