JanSport is an American brand of

backpack A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

s and collegiate apparel, now owned by

VF Corporation VF Corporation (formerly Vanity Fair Mills until 1969) is an American global apparel and footwear company founded in 1899 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The company's 13 brands are organized into three categories: Outdoor, Active and Wor ...

, one of the world's largest apparel companies. JanSport is the world's largest backpack maker, and together, JanSport and

The North Face The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, in Yosemite ...

, also owned by VF Corporation, sell nearly half of all small backpacks sold in the United States.

History

JanSport was founded in 1967 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, United States by Murray Pletz, his wife Janis "Jan" Lewis (for whom the company is named), and his father Norman Pletz. JanSport innovated with a panel-loading daypack, unlike traditional top-loading packs. In 1975, JanSport introduced the first convertible travel pack, as well as its signature daypack. In 1972, the founders began inviting their friends to join their climb on

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

to what is now known as the longest consecutive group climb. To this day, Jansport still holds the record of the most consecutive annual group climbs. In 2018, was their 46th annual Jansport Mount Rainier climb consisting of a team of 16 employees, retailers, international distributors, non-profit partners and media. In 1986, VF purchased JanSport's then parent, Blue Bell. JanSport's corporate headquarters is in

Denver Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unite ...

, at VF Outdoor headquarters, where it shares offices with divisional siblings

, Smartwool,

Altra Running Altra Running, commonly known as Altra, is an American manufacturing company engaged in the design, development, marketing, and sales of athletic shoes for road running, trail running, and general footwear. Since 2018 Altra is owned by VF Corpor ...

Icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

, and

Eastpak Eastpak is an American worldwide lifestyle brand founded in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in the design, development, manufacturing and worldwide marketing and distribution of a range of products including bags, backpacks, travel gear and a ...

. A distribution facility in

Everett, Washington Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...

, which had opened in 1971, closed in March 2012. JanSport's collegiate apparel

warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton ( mez, Ahkōnemeh) is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. One of the Fox Cities, it is situated on the Fox River, southwest of Green Bay and north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the c ...

closed in 2017. Jansport D-3 backpack

JanSport started by developing the external frame backpack which used a metal frame with a cloth packsack attached to it. The products made include technical day packs and internal frame backpacks. Up until the early 1990s all JanSport packs were made in the United States."JanSport Backpacks into Cost-cutting era"
''Milwaukee Business Journal.'' Retrieved January 29, 2018.

References

External links

JanSport
official web site
VF Corporation
{{Climbing navbox Backpac
Bags
VF Corporation Camping equipment manufacturers Clothing companies of the United States Hiking equipment Luggage brands American companies established in 1967 Clothing companies established in 1967 Manufacturing companies established in 1967 1967 establishments in Washington (state) 1986 mergers and acquisitions American brands 1990s fashion 2000s fashion