Vans is giving an encore to its successful “Foot the Bill” program to help support small business partners throughout the country. The division of VF Corp. will be teaming up with independent shops and community driven spaces to create custom footwear and apparel that will be available for purchase online at vans.com/footthebill. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a devastating toll on small businesses, the net proceeds from the “Foot the Bill” merchandise will be going directly to each of the partners involved to help them navigate these difficult times.
“Last year’s “Foot the Bill” program sold 20,962 pairs of Vans globally and raised over $4 million for the participating partners,” states Carly Gomez, vice president marketing of Vans the Americas. “This unique opportunity to offer support to our extended Vans Family is the least that we can do to show our appreciation and thank them during hard times.”
Each participating partner’s “Foot the Bill” footwear and apparel will feature unique artwork that best represents its business. Through the Vans Customs website, customers will be able to support a business by selecting its unique design to create a custom pair of Vans. Participating partners will choose one Vans Classics shoe silhouette and it will serve as a canvas for the artist of their choice. Customers will then have the ability to use the Vans Customs tools to select color, print and the material combinations to design a truly custom pair of Vans.
To kickoff this year’s “Foot the Bill” program, Vans is partnering with Guerrilla Tacos (Los Angeles), Smartbar (Chicago), The Parks Finest (Los Angeles), Red River Cultural District (Austin, TX), and Black Cat (Washington, D.C.). For each of these businesses the funds raised by “Foot the Bill” will be beneficial for ensuring that their employees and establishments can continue contributing their services to their respective communities. Vans will expand the support of the program by adding two to three small businesses to the list of “Foot the Bill” partners each week. Vans will be producing 1,000 pairs of custom Vans shoes and 250 t-shirts per partner, based on demand. In conjunction with Black History month, all of the partners in during February will be Black-owned businesses. Also, Vans will be highlighting three Black-owned businesses each week in order to direct consumers to Black-owned businesses throughout the United States.
