Resolved clauseShareholders request that our company report on its implementation of and progress toward its Policy on Animal-Derived Materials by including the following in future sustainability reports: • Information describing how the company assesses and addresses animal welfare outcomes in its supply chain, including alignment with the Five Freedoms and Five Domains principles that VF Corporation states guide its approach to animal welfare, as well as applicable third-party standards and legal requirements. • Disclosure of instances of non-compliance with such principles, standards, or legal requirements, including issues related to animals experiencing hunger, thirst, discomfort, pain, injury, disease, fear, distress, as well as poor nutrition, environment, or mental state. • Description of corrective and remedial actions taken when instances of non-compliance are identified.
Supporting statementVF Corporation claims to believe in treating animals with care and respect. The “Policy Implementation” section of its Policy on Animal-Derived Materials pledges to “Report regularly and publicly on our commitments and progress towards our goals and targets through our annual sustainability report published on our website.” However, VF Corporation’s reports only verify what percentage of materials come from certified sources. There is no reporting on the mental and physical well-being of animals in its supply chain, nor on violations of the principles set forth in its Policy, although breaches in VF Corporation’s supply chain have been documented by PETA entities and shared with executives. PETA entities have released 16 wool investigations, nine exposés of the down industry, and multiple investigations of cashmere, mohair, and alpaca industries that supply VF Corporation. The findings in every investigation – including abuses such as beating, punching, throwing, and kicking animals; inadequate or nonexistent veterinary care; and slaughter of conscious animals – violate the underlying principles of VF Corporation’s policy and are often unlawful. Three recent exposés of New Zealand’s wool industry, which include several members of icebreaker’s Growers Club, reveal multiple violations of certifications used by VF Corporation. At operations producing ZQ, the self-proclaimed “world’s leading ethical wool,” workers whipped, hit, and stomped on sheep, stood on their necks, and threw them down chutes. Fast shearing left sheep with open wounds that were stitched up without painkillers. At a slaughterhouse owned by a company that purchases sheep from an icebreaker supplier, sheep were forced onto conveyor belts, electroshocked in the head, and their necks were severed. Some sheep kicked their legs violently; some twitched their ears after their throats were cut, suggesting that the stunning was unreliable, and some animals were conscious and suffering during slaughter. Consumers have increasingly demanded greater transparency and accountability from corporations. Failure to deliver on publicly disclosed commitments presents reputational, operational, and supply-chain risks. Accordingly, we call on all shareholders to vote “FOR” this financially and ethically responsible resolution.