Dickies

Dickies® highlights its commitment to ethical practices by transparently publishing a Modern Slavery and Human Rights Statement on their website.

However, workers’ rights are a very complex issue for a company with such a huge number of factories and people who work on its products. VF Corporation states that it directly employs over 68,000 people globally, and nearly a million earn their income by making VF products.

Production takes place in a lot of risk-prone countries, where malpractice is always lurking around the corner. To tackle this issue, VF drew up a Code of Conduct that covers basic workers’ rights, such as workplace safety and maximum weekly working hours. But defining standards in a Code of Conduct is the first step to take. What matters more, is actually upholding these standards. VF Corporation states that it audited 95% of factories in 2018 (2,319 audits). These are conducted either by the company itself or by a third party. Audits conducted by companies themselves carry the risk of being less transparent about actual performance, and that’s why an audit by a renowned third party is generally more trustworthy. While it’s great that VF Corporation conducts numerous audits, the quality of these audits and transparency concerning who actually conducts them needs to be improved. Besides that, there is no proof that VF Corporation pays workers a living wage.

Dickies®, as a global brand under VF Corporation, has its production in various countries around the world. The company’s manufacturing footprint extends to regions that are known for garment production, including countries in Asia, Central America and, and possibly others, depending on the strategic needs and supply chain logistics.

In terms of material sourcing, it still uses some uncertified leather and a large chunk of polyester and nylon are virgin materials. Outdoor apparel is not yet PFC-free and there’s a lot of room for improvement concerning sustainable cotton. There are targets for improving these statistics though. By 2025, the company wants to source 100% more sustainable cotton and in that same year, at least 50% of their nylon and polyester has to be recycled. These targets logically indicate that currently there’s a large percentage of unsustainable materials being used for their products.

There’s no proof that Dickies actively works to reduce the use of solvent-based chemicals in making their products, which could be harmful to workers and the environment.

Switching to safer options or cutting down on their use would make their supply chain both healthier and more environmentally friendly.

Additionally, there’s no sign that the brand is making efforts to reduce its packaging. Too much packaging leads to plastic waste and uses up natural resources. If Dickies were to use eco-friendly packaging, it could greatly lower its effect on the environment.

In the overall VF Corporation sustainability rapport, it states that the company aims to eliminate single-use plastic retail store bags and plastic shoe wraps by the end of FY24 and ensure that all paper-based packaging is made from recycled content or responsibly sourced virgin content by the same timeline.

The company is working to reduce the use of virgin plastic in key packaging materials to less than 15% of overall unit volume by the end of FY24, with a goal to source key single-use plastics entirely from recycled content by FY31.

VF plans to recycle single-use polybags at all owned-or-leased retail stores by FY31 and aims to ship to consumers without primary polybags for all brand-direct e‑commerce orders from their distribution centres by FY31. Collaboration with wholesale partners to reduce polybag use is also highlighted.

Dickies® is known for its durable workwear, which aligns with the principle of creating products that last longer, reducing the need for frequent replacements. 

The blend of synthetic and natural fibres ensures their products can withstand the rigours of daily use while maintaining comfort and functionality, but complicates recyclability of their products. 

Dickies®, as part of VF Corporation, benefits from VF’s broader commitment and published targets towards sustainability and circular business practices, which include efforts to design products with a longer life cycle, use more sustainable materials, and implement recycling programs. This approach helps to reduce waste and encourage the reuse of materials.

Dickies® has an enormous supply chain. Materials for the products originate in nearly sixty different countries.

VF Corporation is actively addressing water efficiency and pollution in its supply chain. The company mandates regular wastewater testing at supplier factories discharging process water into the environment, ensuring compliance with VF’s Global Wastewater Discharge Standards. This applies to all Tier 1 and relevant Tier 2 suppliers using more than 50 m³ of water daily in their operations.

VF Corporation is actively working to reduce CO2 emissions in the transportation of products from factories to stores or warehouses through several initiatives:

• Membership in the Smart Freight Centre’s Clean Cargo Initiative: This collaborative effort focuses on decarbonizing ocean container freight, aiming to reduce the carbon footprint associated with global shipping practices.

• Participation in Maersk’s Eco Delivery Program: For the first time in Fiscal Year 2023, VF used over 4,250 tons of biofuel for ocean shipping as part of this program.

Dixies believes in treating animals with care and respect. Their policy on Animal-Derived Materials states that they ensure in cases where they use animal-derived materials in their products, the animals are treated ethically and humanely. Additionally, the brand ensures traceability for its animal-based materials up to the first stage of production, enhancing transparency and ethical sourcing.

The company strictly bans the use of animal fur, angora rabbit wool, exotic animal skins, or exotic animal hair, and skins from animals that are vulnerable or endangered.

The wool used in their collections is certified by the ZQ Merino Label, which guarantees animal welfare and sustainable farming practices. 

Dickies® backs the slow fashion movement, yet as a large brand, it faces the challenge of balancing widespread production with maintaining its commitment to designs that defy fast fashion trends.

Their durable gear, like the iconic overalls, last a long time and look good on everyone, no matter the season. The brand produces a lot of collections and holds seasonal sales throughout the year, but their style stays classic. This means you can wear Dickies clothes for years and years.

The brand provides some detailed washing instructions to ensure the longevity and proper care of their garments. They encourage repair over replacement, and reselling over disposal.

The company is a subsidiary of VF Corporation, one of the world’s largest apparel companies. It’s unfortunate that VF Corporation publishes a single sustainability report that covers all of its brands and leaves us without specific information per brand. This makes it significantly harder to judge their individual performances. That being said, the company does offer a relatively elaborate sustainability report, which shows that it’s definitely open to change and wants to improve.

VF’s supply chain is relatively transparent. The company has done a pilot in which it published traceability maps for some of its products. We can also find its facilities on the Open Apparel Index, which offers us insight into where its garments are produced. VF Corporation states that it’s working on publishing source maps for its full supply chain, which can be the stepping stone towards full transparency concerning their scope 3 emissions. These currently exclude production and material emissions, which are generally the biggest chunk of emissions for clothing companies. But even though not everything is tracked and measured yet, the multinational corporation is taking climate action. Currently, it’s working with the Higg Index to measure environmental performance in its own facilities to improve water efficiency and waste. VF Corporation has also put Science Based Targets in place, which aim to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 55% and Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030. There’s a commitment to purchasing 100% renewable energy across owned and operated facilities by 2025, which is currently 14%.