‘‘Routes established as glacial climbs have melted out. Glaciers have receded leaving swaths of debris in their wake and peaks that were held together by permafrost are melting. The Himalaya will be affected by a warming climate in the coming decades. As its 5,000 glaciers melt, the rivers that flow from the mountains will cease to be perennial and become seasonal, threatening the water supply for the one-fifth of the world’s population that receives water from the Himalaya.

The North Face is committed to reducing its carbon footprint. From the solar installations at our facilities to the energy saving practices in our textile mills, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our impact. It is more than ‘doing the right thing’ – it is our brand heritage.’’

Conrad Anker, Alpinist and The North Face Athlete

 

Addressing climate change is not only good for the planet, it’s good for business. Our athletes travel to some of the most remote places on the planet and they have seen firsthand the effects of climate change. Glaciers are receding and permafrost is melting. The winter ski season is changing dramatically and once in a lifetime events such as storms, fires, and floods are occurring much more often.

We know we’re not perfect, but we are taking action to protect our planet and driving progress towards our sustainability goals. We're committed to creating the best performing products while working to reduce our impact on the places we explore.

Sustainable goals

We’ve set an ambitious goal to ensure all products we make are made with recycled, regenerative or responsibly-sourced renewable fabrics. We’re on track to hit our goal with all our clothing in 2025, and all footwear and equipment by 2030.

Giving gear a second life

Our goal is to develop circular systems to take back previously-owned gear and reuse the raw materials, keeping them out of waste streams. While we already have initiatives in place, our first products intentionally designed for circularity will launch in 2022.​

Packed with purpose

Our goal is to eliminate single-use plastic packaging by 2025. We’re working to reduce remaining product packaging and design packaging that is more recyclable. And we only use recycled material for product hangtags and cardboard shipping boxes.

Leaving smaller footprints

We’re committed to working with our suppliers to help reduce their environmental footprint, too. We’re also partnering with retailers who share both our mission and our values.

Together, we’re taking action to give hope.

We believe that the success of our business is fundamentally linked to having a healthy planet. With five decades in the outdoor retail business, we have a long-term view of our operational impacts and environmental priorities. In 2009, we joined other forward-looking companies in the Ceres Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) coalition to advocate for progressive climate change policies. We were one of the initial 33 signatories of the Climate Declaration in 2013 urging federal policymakers to tackle climate change. More than 1,000 companies across the country have signed the Declaration, demonstrating to policymakers that the U.S. business community is ready for comprehensive climate change policies.

In 2015 we wrote an op-ed, “Washington Must Act on Climate Change,” calling for impactful action to address carbon emissions. We support the Paris Climate Agreement and are a signatory of the Business Backs Low-Carbon USA statement. The statement asks our elected U.S. leaders to strongly support:

1. Continuation of low-carbon policies
2. Investment in the low carbon economy
3. Continued US participation in the Paris Agreement

While reducing our direct energy footprint is our first priority, we have purchased verified offsets since 2007 for greenhouse gas emissions we can’t yet eliminate. Since 2010 we have offset the emissions generated from shipping e-commerce orders to our customers. We work with the non-profit Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) to manage these offsets. To offset the emissions from our owned and operated facilities, we invest in Green-E Climate Certified carbon offsets and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) through BEF.

Since 2007, we have offset the emissions from our business travel and employee commuting through projects that protect and restore forests. In 2018 we began offsetting the emissions generated by our athletes' expeditions through tree planting projects.