The North Face has become the latest company to deploy woke nonsense on its unsuspecting customers by insisting they complete a ‘racial inclusion course’ if they want to benefit from a 20% discount. The pricey brand is loved by outdoors types: 69% of outdoor fashion users in the U.K. use The North Face and it is listed in the top brands for outdoor clothing.
Here is what you read when you enter the course:
At The North Face, we believe in the power of exploration… We also have a responsibility to support spaces where everyone feels like they belong. This one-hour digital course is designed to foster a deeper understanding of the unique challenges that people of colour face when accessing the outdoors. The course focuses on the perspective of race and racism in Europe, and we acknowledge that the experiences of people of colour around the globe differs.
The ‘racial inclusion and allyship’ course is created by the clothing company itself and named ‘Allyship in The Outdoors‘. It lasts one long, tedious hour, and comprises four modules.
Module one, ‘Diversity and the Outdoors: Where are we now?’ looks at how ‘inclusive’ the outdoors is. It claims that ‘people of colour’ are less likely to go climbing, hiking, skiing, snowboarding and trail running, to live in an area that is naturally developed or spend their time in the countryside. Surely, it is an individual’s decision if he or she wants to spend time outdoors? There are numerous reasons why ethnic minorities live disproportionately in cities – social and employment reasons, for instance – but very few of them have anything to do with racism.
Module two, called ‘Voices Unlocked: How The Outdoors is Changing’, shows videos of three people talking about their experience in the outdoors. Throughout, it implies that ethnic minorities are being excluded from taking part in outdoor activities and suggests that the only way this can be addressed is by creating pathways for the younger generation. It claims that any struggles a white person has faced is never related to the colour of his or her skin as only people of colour can be discriminated against.
Module three, ‘The Power of Allyship’, explains that it aims to challenge racism and remove barriers that disadvantage people of colour. It purports to show how racism shows up in the outdoors: there is no policy that excludes people from the outdoors, yet there are fewer people of colour. Again, perhaps that is their choice, or maybe there are perfectly understandable reasons why ethnic minorities are less likely to live in the countryside. At the end of the module it asks some questions, such as: “A Black girl goes along to her first snowboarding lesson. The other participants are fascinated with her hair and ask if they can touch it. What level of racism is this?” “What would you do if your friend begins a joke, which may be racist?” And, “What would you do if you posted your work on social media about bringing people of colour together and someone commented ‘too woke’?”
The final module is titled ‘Small Actions Big Impact: Allyship in Action’ and focuses on ‘allyship’ and the ‘steps we can take to make a change’. It asks us to consider how we can make people of colour feel accepted outdoors, how we can ‘show up’ for others who ‘lack the power and privileges’ and what are some strategies we can use to increase ethnic diversity in the outdoors.
Your correspondent took the course, and you will be pleased to hear that I got a pass. I have received my 20% discount and earned a certificate for being an ‘ally’. Honestly, this course is not only ridiculous, it is ironic as it seems to imply that all of The North Face’s customers are white and they will be the only ones taking the course. It’s not clear how this will boost sales to ethnic minorities, but it does risk driving away white customers sick of the assumption they are racist and need reeducating by their clothing supplier.
Costa Coffee went woke and customers boycotted the cafe, Bud Light’s sales fell drastically after it used Dylan Mulvaney for a promotion and Target lost customers during Pride month. Will The North Face be the next victim of ‘go woke, go broke’?
Jack Watson, who’s 15, has a Substack newsletter called Ten Foot Tigers about being a Hull City fan. You can subscribe here.
Stop Press: The Mail‘s Nana Akua (who’s black) says she “failed The North Face’s nonsense diversity test” and is “getting tired of this divisive corporate virtue signalling”.
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