Vans Relaunches ‘Foot the Bill’ Customization Program to Support U.S. Small Businesses
Vans announced the relaunch of its “Foot the Bill” customization initiative for 2021. Through the program, each small business is given the opportunity to create custom apparel and footwear merchandise to sell through the Vans e-commerce website to drive awareness to independent and community shops throughout the United States.
To participate in the initiative, each small business partner selects one Vans sneaker style of their choice to use as a blank canvas for their unique designs. These custom pieces are then available through Vans for shoppers to purchase online.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures have had detrimental effects and costs to small businesses, making this visibility and additional revenue opportunities more important than ever. To support these local organizations, Vans will provide the net proceeds from “Foot The Bill” merchandise directly to its small business partners.
We know how important small businesses are. Help us support them by buying a pair of their Custom Vans through the "Foot The Bill" initiative. Net proceeds go directly to each partner during this challenging time. https://t.co/7Mj8aiC8dz pic.twitter.com/FJWCNM0YDE
— Vans (@VANS_66) January 25, 2021
For this year’s program rollout, Vans is partnering with the following venues throughout the country: Guerrilla Tacos (Los Angeles), Smartbar (Chicago), The Parks Finest (Los Angeles), Red River Cultural District (Austin, Texas) and Black Cat (Washington, D.C.)
“Last year’s ‘Foot the Bill’ program sold 20,962 pairs of Vans globally and raised over $4 million for the participating partners,” Carly Gomez, the VP Marketing of Vans the Americas, said in a statement. “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.”
Every week, Vans plans to add two to three small businesses to the “Foot the Bill” program with 1,000 pairs of Custom Vans shoes and 250 T-shirts created per partner, based on demand. To honor Black History Month in February, Vans announced that the company will be highlighting three black-owned businesses each week to direct consumers to these organizations.
Learn more about the Vans “Foot the Bill” program on the brand’s page dedicated to the initiative.
Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
