Nearly half of all small backpacks sold in the United States are produced by JanSport and its sister brand The North Face, also owned by VF Corporation.

[4] Pletz entered the finished backpack project in a design contest sponsored by the Aluminum Company of America and won the prize.

[4] Using the contest award money,[4] JanSport was founded in 1967 in Seattle, Washington, United States by Murray Pletz, his future wife (they married two years later)[3] Janis "Jan" Lewis (for whom the company is named), and his father Norman Pletz.

[10] 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.

The products made include technical day packs and internal frame backpacks.