By A huge company has decided that all of its customers need to go to diversity training, and it’s paying them to do so. The North Face, a renowned outdoor outfitter, is providing a 20% discount to customers who successfully finish a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) course.
Introduced by the company, the course named “Allyship in the Outdoors” aims to educate customers on racial inequalities in outdoor pursuits. Designed for individuals within the outdoor industry, the course takes approximately one hour.
The Washington Examiner caught some of the details of the company’s new woke discount program.
“At The North Face, we believe in the power of exploration. As individuals, professionals and companies who share a love for the outdoors and exploration, we also have a responsibility to support spaces where everyone feels like they belong,” a course description reads.
“The course focuses on perspective of race and racism in Europe, and we acknowledge that the experiences of people of colour around the globe differs. It will also provide training and resources, through 4 interactive modules, to help you be a better ally and to make the outdoors a safer and more welcoming place for everyone.”
Intended for people who work and operate in the outdoor industry, the training lasts an hour.
During the training, one learns about the limitations people of color face when it comes to enjoying the outdoors, the impact of events such as the death of George Floyd, and the aim of creating an “equitable outdoors for everyone.”
After completing modules, participants must answer questions such as, “Why should we aim to achieve equity in the outdoors?”
The outdoor clothing giant quietly launched the training program in an attempt to spur a “more equitable” countryside, explained Fortune.
“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.”
Speaking about the DEI training program, Free Speech Union founder Toby Young said: “The irony is that The North Face is implicitly acknowledging here that all its customers are white.”
This isn’t the first time that The North Face has pushed wokeness as a marketing ploy. Last year, the company launched a “Pride Month campaign” that received criticism from conservatives after it appeared to target children.
Can anyone explain how the heck this ad helps @thenorthface sell outdoor clothes? They’re screaming at you to not buy their products if this violates your values. Accept their challenge. The North Face is owned by the VF Corporation which also owns Supreme, Vans, and Timberland. pic.twitter.com/9RwVljsa9N
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) May 24, 2023
Big name brands sexually targeting children makes me want to buy all generic brand clothing now.
Besides.. we can save a fortune NOT wasting money on labels that are grooming our children. #BoycottGroomers https://t.co/YxyqCmTy6H
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 24, 2023
“The ad, featured on the North Face’s Instagram page, is replete with references to homosexuality, and invites people to join Mr. Gonia on their tour stops: Salt Lake City, UT; Atlanta, GA; Portland, OR; Denver, CO; Columbus, OH; and San Francisco, CA.
‘Last year, we gay sashayed across the nation, and celebrated Pride across the nation with hundreds of you,’ he says, referring to a 2022 partnership with The North Face which saw him garbed in an elaborate dress shaped like an open tent, with a man laying underneath.
‘We roar. We heal. We become,’ the corporation declares, adding: ‘Mother Nature guides us to where we need to be – and we dress up to honor her.’ Customers are then invited to pay up to $165 for multicolored shoes, amongst other apparel, including kids clothes,” explained one outlet.
In 2023, conservatives launched a boycott of Bud Light in response to a similar campaign, costing the parent company billions of dollars. Recently, former president Donald Trump called for his supporters to end the boycotting effort.
Trump’s message came on the heels of the announcement that a top Republican lobbyist for the company would be hosting a fundraiser for the former president, with some tickets going at $10,000 each.
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