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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Bye bye North face
Really bad coats. Had one leak on me badly up Waun Fach in the Black Mountains during a storm in 2006. Have spent 19 years advising ppl against buying these dog excrement coats, so feeling very vindicated by this.
Not surprised your vindicated, any retail outlet that treats its customers like this deserves to go broke
Won’t be shopping there again.
It’s expensive and crap anyway.
Later today I’ll send them an email telling them how if they complete my questionnaire and return it to me on “how not to avoid lecturing customers or offering best pricing dependent on adopting their politics and ideology,” they can qualify for being considered a shopping destination worthy of consideration by me. But I’ll only consider it. No guarantees.
I’m going to pinch that
I find North Face to be unnecessarily expensive anyway and much prefer Trespass, Decathlon and Mountain Warehouse.
Also their gear is rubbish compared to the cheaper brands you mention, I got soaked to the skin in my ‘waterproof’ North Face jacket at a festival last ‘summer’.
Just get a Goretex coat. You can’t beat that stuff.
Gore-Tex is a marketing gimmick.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GGEzJJYiROk
As mentioned here already – Buffalo Systems. You won’t look back. Promise.
That’s why Buffalo was the go to provider for serious use, like mountain rescue teams and the military and it never let us down.
I agree, I think Trespass is a great brand but my kids all wear North Face.
Might be a good time to replace the North Face bag I’ve had for about a decade. Not a good look.
Wearing North Face now is definitely NOT a good look. I would suggest that wandering about with one of their logos would be a bit like wearing a JSO tabard. It really does announce “hippish, with it, wokeish, thick and stupid.”
I always go to an outdoors clothing retailer whenever I need advice on racial ethics!
I wonder who dreamed this one up, and who passed it as ok?, I wonder how many people fail? Can I suggest everyone hot foots it too the North Face and deliberately try to fail the test then complain that you are being discriminated against if they dont give you the 20%.
I wonder if I went to Saudia Arabia, Qatar, or any other middle East country, if I went to the Congo, Namibia, Botswana, or India, Pakistan, or China would they have a similar campaign with regards to making European, scandinavian, British, ethnics feel that they should be encouraged to not feel discriminated against for outdoor activities based on their ethnicity, and tests being given to the locals of those countries?. NoI don’t think so either. Time for the North Face to join Budlite down the snake to the dust heap.
I used to buy their stuff but cast them adrift a couple of years ago.
Don’t give your money to people who hate you.
Everyone hates me (present company excepted).
I am very fortunate to be totally unswayed by the logo look. I buy clothes on looks, fit, functionality and price. A logo is irrelevant. I do have branded clothing but the branding never influences my purchases. Two of my best and warmest Winter jackets are from Primark and both cost £6 in the sales. One is fifteen years old and the other ten. I still wear them regularly. That’s what I call value for money.
The thought of paying £500 for a glorified duvet fills me with horror.
It would be nice to state on here that I will never support North Face again but they have never had a penny anyway so I cannot add to their woes.
Anyway hopefully another Go Woke, Go Broke.
The smarmy tos#ers.
Nana Akua of GB News did the North Face test—-and failed it. She wrote a spanking article in the Daily Mail about the experience. Find it at http://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-mail/20240308/281487871311951 What happened when Nana Akua took the North Face test. What the hell is wrong with these companies? They must have some kind of death-wish. It’s called the Bud-Light syndrome.
North Face went beserk last year with their ‘Summer of Pride’ ad campaign, featuring one of the weirdest people I’ve ever seen on a tv advertisement, Pattie Gonia
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SZmeBcmboSQ&pp=ygUQTm9ydGggZmFjZSBxdWVlbg%3D%3D
Needless to say, it wasn’t particularly well received by their core customer base, many of whom switched to another brand.
10navigator – I’ll post this and then read the mail link about what Nana Akua’s view. I registered for this survey out of curiosity but only got as a far as Module 2.
In true Soviet style, it simply blocks one continuing the ‘right answers’ are selected. If you honestly select anything else, tough ” And if you write some politically incorrect narrative with a ‘wrong answer’ it freezes again. Its just a damned woke echochamber.
I live in a rural location and work in a harsh ‘outdoors’ environment including the depths of this and previous winters. North Face’s concept of ‘safety’ takes on another meaning. The outdoors is not a political playground, its real, can be wonderful but also harsh and extreme. As well as real discomfort, it has the potential to maim and kill the hapless and unprepared. And inexperienced city dwellers are overrepresented in the stats while PoCs tend to be urban dwellers. OK there are plenty of descendants of Indian subcontinent folk I meet who have acquired the experience and kit to fare well, but other urbanite PoCs are less likely to ‘safely’ enjoy their visits for reasons removed from diversity and inclusion.
Module 2 has a video where the earnest muslim lady featured talks about needing larger size helmets to accommodate her niquab; I have to say “I’m sorry but Muslim cotton wear is neither realistic nor safe for rock climbing in bad weather, any more than a Catholic priest dressed in his cassock”. At this point where my selection was that I neither agreed nor disgreed that the countryside is diverse, I gave up. Outdoors is what it is, whether these social justice warriors can see that or not.
As far as North Face is concerned, it used to be much better gear than it is now. It moved manufacture to China more than 25 years ago which is why, then, many Shanghai dwellers sported its prominent logo. Quality and fitness for purpose have gone as rapidly downhill as fast as prices have soared.
It has opened my eyes to the absurd and corrosive propaganda and opinion straitjacketing this DIE cult represents. But most people I work and socialise with can see it for what it is too ! North Face can follow Anheuser Busch downhill – they deserve it.
Richard, Thank you for the reply. I first bought North Face gear (ski jacket) around 30 years ago, and by taking good care of it, it’s still serviceable and in use. On a negative note, I read that the Patagonia brand is following NF in trying to burnish its Woke credentials. Will they ever learn?
This move is overtly racist as it would appear to exclude black people from the 20% discount.
It’s American. As usual, exporting their problems and attitudes through neocolonialism.
The best (expensive) rucksack and waterproof I have had were made by Berghaus.
Mind you, I am unaware of their viewpoint on Middle East politics or the climate crisis.
Never bought any of it.
Never will now.
Buffalo Systems is my choice. Proper outdoor shizzle. No nonsense quality from Sheffield. Special 6 Shirt is the bee’s knees.
‘kin hell M A k I can buy a suit for that money.
Had it almost 14 years. Wear it on average something like twice a week. Go hiking in it, all weathers, with rucksack. Skiing also. The only thing to fail (very slightly) is the stitching on the inside of the right arm, and some velcro tabs came loose, I just stitched them back on.
It is bulletproof. And it keeps me warm.
I was gutted three weeks ago when a flying ember burnt a 3mm wide hole in the Pertex. But it won’t fray as the edges melted neatly. Gives it character, I guess.
Buffalo Systems are generally made to order as they don’t need to fill high street stores to survive – they get so much of their business from massive contracts to the military and armed police.
Only the rich wear cheap shoes.
Don’t use Costa any more, never, ever, drank Bud Light and stopped buying Ben and Jerry’s. Used to buy TNF clothing but now added that to my list to boycott.
The potential jihadists who managed to find their way to the Brecon Beacons (and other National Parks) to train didn’t seem to have any problem accessing the countryside.
“Suspected terrorists have mounted training exercises in some of the most popular areas of the national parks of England and Wales, the Guardian has learned.”
This is just another attempt by the Woke to brand white British people, who live in rural areas, as racists. It’s THEIR fault if “people of colour” don’t visit/live in their areas …… not the fault of the “minority” for wanting to live in the ghettos they’ve created.
I received an email from Edward Bulmer Paint advising me, proudly, that they had achieved B-Corp status.
I promptly unsubscribed from the newsletter and won’t be buying his paint.