About 250,000 craftspeople make Timberland products at more than 300 factories in 30 countries around the world. Timberland has a long-standing history of ensuring that our products are produced by suppliers that provide fair, safe and non-discriminatory workplaces that do not harm the workers, the community or the environment. We first developed our Code of Conduct in 1994. Since then, we’ve ensured a dedicated team monitors factory conditions and works with suppliers to implement social and environmental management systems.

Timberland was acquired by VF Corporation in 2011, at which time our Code of Conduct was replaced by VF’s Terms of Engagement and Global Compliance Principles. VF monitors factory compliance with its Terms of Engagement for all factories producing branded product for VF brands, as well as for key material suppliers (such as tanneries). See VF’s Compliance page with more details on VF’s auditing process and compliance requirements.

After a factory has received its audit rating, VF’s Responsible Sourcing and Sustainable Operations teams engage further with the factory to analyze issues found, uncover root causes and identify necessary actions for implementing industry best practice social and environmental management systems.

Going beyond basic compliance, the VF Sustainable Operations team works with our strategic suppliers (who collectively represent 75% of our global overall production volume) to assess each factory’s social and environmental management systems. The team provides suppliers with necessary training and assistance to implement best practice environmental and social/labor management systems.