MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — December 14, 2021 — Renfro Brands celebrates its 100th anniversary and shares vision for continued growth. Founded in 1921 as Renfro Hosiery Mills, the company started as a small domestic manufacturer. A century later, Renfro has grown into a global leader in the legwear industry with over 1,500 employees globally. This year has been an important one for the company as it announced new ownership by the private holding company, The Renco Group Inc., which followed the launch of Renfro’s direct-to-consumer marketplace Loops & Wales and corporate rebranding.
As Renfro charts its next phase of growth, the company is focused on making a positive impact on the world. Renfro has long rallied behind its belief that “a life well-lived, is lived in socks” and understands that while it starts with great socks, its impact goes further than that. Through its new corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, Project Footprint, Renfro has set out to foster better employment opportunities for more people, to continue to give back to the communities where it works, and to take every effort to preserve a healthy planet for a healthy future.
“We are extremely proud of where we are today as a company, and that is thanks to our employees, partners, and communities who have supported and trusted us over the past 100-years,” said Stan Jewell, CEO of Renfro Brands. “Project Footprint is not only our way of growing what our founders started but continuing our commitment to living our vision of helping people get back on their feet to achieve a life well-lived.”
As part of Project Footprint, Renfro has committed to achieving specific goals for each pillar of its program — Our Communities, Our Planet, and Our People — and will expand these with new actions and efforts annually. Among the objectives set to date, Renfro has committed to achieving the following by 2025:
- Renfro will increase the number of BIPOC employees at the manager level by over 20 percent to ensure leaders reflect the consumers it serves.
- Renfro will launch an annual sock capsule on its direct-to-consumer platform Loops & Wales, where 100 percent of proceeds are donated to an organization helping people get back on their feet.
- Renfro will use sustainable yarns and materials in at least half of the products it produces, increasing this to 100 percent by 2030.
Additionally, starting in 2022, Renfro aims to donate over $1 million in employee hours to nonprofits by providing time for eligible employees to live its values and volunteer with organizations with roots in local communities. Renfro will continue to progress and evolve Project Footprint to both grow its impact and address new needs as they emerge.
Posted December 14, 2021
Source: Renfro
