The North Face Expands Made in the U.S.A. “Backyard Project” Collection

In its second year, The Backyard Project has scaled production nearly
15x, tapped new partners across the U.S.A. and evolved production to
bring eco-preferred fashion to more consumers

ALAMEDA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The North Face, the world’s premier supplier of authentic, innovative
and technically advanced outdoor apparel, equipment and footwear, today
launches the second installment of its locally produced, Made in the
U.S.A. clothing line, The Backyard Project. For this new line, The North
Face challenged itself to find ways to expand and scale its pilot
project with a goal of increasing both domestic production and impact.
The Backyard Project again brought together a collective of farmers,
artisans and small businesses to achieve increased production, new
styles and colors and a lower price point for consumers.

The Evolution of The Backyard Project

In November 2014, The North Face set out to design its first all-cotton
hoodie grown, designed, cut and sewn within 150 miles of The North Face
headquarters in Alameda, California. Harnessing key learnings from the
inaugural capsule collection, this year’s Backyard Project has
significantly scaled in quantity and style, while decreasing the hoodie
price. From last year’s single-color, unisex hoodie, The Backyard
Project has expanded to now include men’s t-shirts, as well as both
men’s and women’s full zip and pullover hoodies, and will now be
available in more than eight colors – all sourced and manufactured
within the U.S.A.

“The Backyard Project is about connecting with local artisans right here
in the U.S.A. It’s about knowing which farms grew your cotton, who spun
the yarn, or how your product was dyed. We learned a lot during
Backyard’s 2014 introduction and challenged ourselves to produce a
bigger run of locally sourced clothing this season,” said Sumi Scott,
Director of Sportswear, The North Face.

Los Angeles: The Hub of the American Garment Industry

The North Face moved the majority of production from the Bay Area to Los
Angeles for this edition in order to scale the project. This allowed The
North Face to work with small Los Angeles-based businesses including JC
Industries and Care-Tex Industries, who represent a combined 118 years
of experience in the apparel industry and deep expertise in domestic
manufacturing.

“The Backyard Project emphasizes the importance of ‘Made in the U.S.A.’
The more that large brands can raise awareness of the potential for
domestic production, the more likely the consumer will be to seek out
domestically produced garments. It’s great to see The North Face
supporting this movement,” says Paul Kang, director of Care-Tex
Industries, who dyed The Backyard Project garments this year.

Grown and Sewn in the U.S.A.

One hundred percent of the cotton used for The Backyard Project was
grown in the U.S.A. The project benefitted from the expertise of
American farmers like Jim Olvey of The Natural Hue Company, who has been
a cotton breeder for forty years, as well as Ted Sheely, who uses
innovative precision irrigation technologies as well as aerial imagery
and GPS tractor guidance to maximize yields on the Sheely Family Farm in
Stratford, California. The cotton for this year’s Backyard Project was
also ginned in California and Arizona and spun into yarn in South
Carolina, before being dyed, cut and sewn in Los Angeles.

The new Backyard Project line of products will be available in select
retail stores and online in the U.S.A. on March 1, 2016.

Visit www.thenorthface.com/backyard
for more information.

About The North Face®

The North Face, a VF Corporation brand, was founded in 1966 with the
goal of preparing outdoor athletes for the rigors of their next
adventure. Today we are the world’s leading outdoor brand,
creating athlete-tested, expedition-proven products that help
people explore and test the limits of human potential. We protect our
outdoor playgrounds and minimize our impact on the planet through
programs that encourage sustainability. The North Face products are
available at premium and specialty retail sporting goods stores globally
and we are headquartered in California on a LEED Platinum-certified
campus. For more information, please visit www.thenorthface.com.

Contacts

Edelman for The North Face
Peter Grace, 415-486-3259 (direct)
Peter.Grace@edelman.com
516-459-5240
(mobile)
or
The North Face
Pamela Ajello, 510-748-2742
(office)
Pamela_Ajello@vfc.com
510-501-5768
(mobile)