The North Face Summit Series Futurefleece Sustainability Report

Despite its featherweight fabric, the FutureFleece holds up surprisingly well in active use. The polyester material resists wear better than expected, though less-reliable zippers hamper the jacket’s longevity. Treat it with care, and it can remain a fast-and-light favorite for years.

Choosing durable outdoor gear is perhaps the most effective way to reduce environmental impact—the longer it lasts, the less it needs to be produced. Our proprietary longevity rating evaluates overall build quality based on factors such as materials, fabric denier, component durability (including zippers and toggles), real-world performance as reported by our field testers, and our experiences with the brand. Overall, we feel strongly that reducing overall consumption is a cornerstone of sustainability.

The North Face Summit Series FutureFleece Full-Zip Hoodie incorporates 45% recycled polyester in its main body fabric. In 2024 (the most recent available data), 95% of polyester and 80% of nylon used in The North Face fabrics came from recycled, responsibly sourced, or renewable materials (up from 85% and 75%, respectively, in 2023). The company aimed for 100% of its most commonly used apparel materials—polyester, cotton, leather, elastane, and nylon—to be recycled, responsibly sourced, or regeneratively grown by 2025. However, it fell short of that goal and now plans to achieve it by 2030.

Outdoor gear can be made partly or entirely from recycled materials, the most common being nylon, polyester, wool, and down. Some products include a single recycled component or a partially recycled fabric, while others are 100% recycled (generally excluding accessories like zippers, Velcro, toggles, etc.). For our sustainability ratings, we evaluate the amount of recycled materials in a particular product and assign points accordingly.

There are no Bluesign-approved materials in the FutureFleece. The North Face is a Bluesign System Partner but does not report what percentage of its materials are Bluesign approved.

Bluesign Technologies, based in Switzerland, operates a third-party textile certification system that ensures materials are manufactured to strict environmental, chemical, and worker safety standards. A Bluesign-approved material indicates that it has undergone a rigorous vetting process based on the criteria above. A Bluesign Product goes the next mile, containing at least 90% Bluesign-approved fabrics and at least 30% Bluesign-approved accessories.

The North Face’s parent company, VF Corporation, has a comprehensive audit program for its suppliers. However, we have not been able to verify if VF or The North Face uses any third-party certifications for their manufacturing processes. To meet our responsible manufacturing criteria, we require brands to be part of a third-party program that provides certification and/or annual audits of factories to ensure safe working conditions, fair wages, and a decreased environmental impact. The North Face thus does not make the grade in this category.

This criterion evaluates a brand's commitment to fair wages, safe working conditions, and reducing its environmental impact throughout the production process. Responsible manufacturing is most commonly demonstrated through certifications and membership in programs such as Fair Trade Certified, Fair Wear Foundation, Worldwide Responsible Accreditation of Production, and the Fair Labor Association. We also recognize brands that prioritize local production, such as those that manufacture primarily in the United States or Europe, to reduce carbon emissions, maintain better oversight of working conditions, and comply with strict social and environmental regulations.

In 2024, The North Face launched three packaging reduction pilots: removing and recycling poly bags, shipping cartons of gloves without poly bags, and shipping footwear orders in shoeboxes without an additional shipping box. The company also uses Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper bags in its retail stores and recycled poly bags for all orders. In North America, The North Face retail stores collect and send plastic polybags back to distribution centers for recycling, diverting over 78,000 pounds of plastic waste since the program’s inception.

Packaging can add significant waste to an outdoor gear purchase and often ends up in landfills. Many brands are using recycled packaging and/or making efforts to reduce packaging altogether. For example, they may use a certain percentage of recycled cardboard or make efforts to use less plastic or paper across their packaging operation. In some cases, brands also use Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper products, which helps to ensure sustainable sourcing of forest materials.

The North Face offers repair services for products covered under warranty free of charge. Damage not covered under warranty can also be repaired for a fee.

Repair services extend the lifespan of outdoor gear and reduce overall consumption. Some brands offer comprehensive repair programs that can fix a wide range of issues, while others have more limited capabilities. If a brand's warranty policy only covers replacement, rather than repair, these programs usually do not meet this criterion.

The North Face operates a dedicated resale program called Renewed. If your used gear doesn’t qualify for resale, The North Face will recycle or donate it. When you send your gear in for resale, you receive store credit that you can use toward new gear. The North Face also offers a small collection of Circular Design products, which are designed to be recycled by the company at the end of their life, as well as Remade, a collection of products recrafted from end-of-life The North Face gear.

Resale and recycling programs help keep outdoor gear in circulation for longer and out of landfills. The most common form is a trade-in program, where consumers can exchange items for store credit, which is then resold. Some brands accept products back for recycling at the end of their life, thereby reducing waste. Occasionally, some do both.

The North Face’s parent company, VF Corporation, tracks its greenhouse gas emissions. It set a Science Based Targets Initiative-verified goal to reduce its absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 55% and Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030. Scope 3 emissions account for 99% of VF Corporation’s total footprint. Unfortunately, between 2017 and 2024, VF Corporation's Scope 3 emissions increased by 19%, leaving the company well behind its reduction target. While it reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions during the same period, those emissions represent only a small share of its overall footprint.

This criterion evaluates whether this brand measures its greenhouse gas emissions, along with its commitment to reduction and transparency in reporting. Typically, we require brands to follow established frameworks such as the Higg Index, Greenhouse Gas Protocol, or The Change Climate Project. Most companies use the widely recognized scope categorization system for measuring brand emissions. Those who earn the most points in this category have emissions reduction goals verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a global organization that helps companies set greenhouse gas reduction targets in line with the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C. To verify their goals through SBTi, companies undergo a rigorous assessment process and continual follow-up to ensure consistent progress towards achieving their targets.

The North Face's parent company, VF Corporation, publishes an annual impact report covering the sustainability performance of its many subsidiary brands. Notably, VF mentions The North Face and its specific initiatives throughout the report, but details are more limited than in other brand reports we’ve read. As a result, it leaves some questions about The North Face's sustainability progress unanswered.

An impact report is an important step toward transparency and accountability on the sustainability front. These reports vary in form but generally cover topics such as material sourcing, greenhouse gas emissions tracking, waste and water usage, supply chain analysis, and packaging efforts. For our sustainability ratings, we evaluate this criterion based on the depth and quality of the information provided in the report, and how often it is produced. Some brands produce their own impact report, while others are published by their parent company. In practice, we’ve found that reports produced by individual brands include more detailed information about their sustainability efforts.