The North Face was once a simple one-stop shop for hiking gear. But today, having upped its TikTok game, you’re more likely to spot a Gen Z urbanite sporting its puffer jacket than a countryside trekker.
Now, The North Face is aiming for further approval from the socially conscious cohort by offering customers 20% off if they take a racial inclusion course.
The one-hour-long course called ”Allyship in the Outdoors” begins by inviting customers to ask themselves: “How many people of color do you see on the slopes, on the hills, or on the trails?”
Later in the module white customers are told that the great outdoors isn’t so great for people of color.
“Privilege can give us access to the outdoors,” the course explains. “In this particular context we refer to ‘white privilege’ meaning that your race and skin color can give you access to the outdoors when others can be excluded because of historic, enduring racism and biases.”
Through four interactive modules, the course promises “to help you be a better ally and to make the outdoors a safer and more welcoming place for everyone.”
Another portion of the training instructs participants on how to handle accusations of being “too woke” on social media, telling them to file formal complaints to their bosses and “respond to the comment with calm authority, in line with your [organization’s] policy and guidelines on hate speech and racism.”
In the end, those who answer all the multiple-choice questions on allyship, bias, and privilege correctly are rewarded with a handy discount voucher.
“To thank you for being an ally and completing the full course, The North Face is pleased to offer you a one-off 20% discount, to be used on The North Face website,” the discount reads, with the caveat that those who have completed the course from North America won’t be able to reap the reward.
Why is The North Face running a racial inclusion course?
The outdoor clothing giant quietly launched the training program to help foster a “more equitable” countryside, according to the website.
The nearly 60-year-old American retailer pointed to a 2017 study which found that just 26.2% of Black people and 25.7% of Asian people spend time in the countryside, compared with 44.2% of white people in England.
“People of color are less likely to go climbing, hiking, skiing, snowboarding, and trail running,” it outlined. “People of color are three times more likely than white people to live in an area that is nature deprived.”
Although this experience is nothing new for ethnic minorities, corporations have been publishing diversity and inclusion pledges in the wake of Black Lives Matter.
As The North Face explained in its program, the “dial” of inclusion “moved further when George Floyd was murdered by the police in Minneapolis.”
It added that the 2020 murder which sparked outrage around the world “fostered a new awakening in the outdoors that racial inclusion and representation matters.”
The North Face didn’t respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
The North Face faces criticism of ‘woke capitalism’
Incentivizing inclusion may go down with the progressive youth of today; however, right-wing commentators are calling to boycott the brand on social media using the hashtag #boycottNorthFace.
A popular post on the platform X, from James Esses, a trainee therapist who was expelled from a university course for expressing gender critical beliefs, slams the program as “woke capitalism at its worst.”
It’s racked up millions of views with thousands of people sharing similar sentiments in the comments section.
Retailer @thenorthface are offering 20% off if you complete their “digital course in racial inclusion”.
— James Esses (@JamesEsses) March 2, 2024
Customers are told that “white privilege grants access to the outdoors” and warns others are “excluded” from the outdoors because of “racism”.
Woke capitalism at its worst. pic.twitter.com/RiJK1KzLwI
“Every time you think identity politics has hit peak lunacy, something happens to take it up a level,” Liverpolitan, the Liverpool-based political magazine, commented on his post. “Segregation and blatant discrimination is the new progress. Somebody should be sacked for this.”
One TikToker has even called the brand “social justice warriors who want to push racial division.”
While the phrase “Go woke, go broke” is a popular response to the campaign, some have critiqued the company for being hypocritical and tokenistic.
“They’re using money to incentivize becoming woke,” another popular post on X claimed.
Just last year, The North Face was forced to defend itself against similar right-wing criticism of its “Summer of Pride” campaign, which featured the drag queen Pattie Gonia.
“The North Face has always believed the outdoors should be a welcoming, equitable, and safe place for all,” the retail brand told Newsweek in a statement at the time. “We stand with those who support our vision for a more inclusive outdoor industry.”
