Did clothing brand The North Face just show its true face? Some may thus wonder with news that the company is offering a 20-percent discount on its products. But there’s a catch:
You must take an hour-long, online “racial inclusion” course. If you then “pass” a multiple-choice quiz — which includes topics such as “white privilege” — you’re rewarded with a voucher for the discount.
Another catch is that you must be in Britain; if you live anywhere else, The North Face isn’t interested in “enlightening” you, apparently.
The New York Post reports on the story, writing that the “sportswear brand says its Allyship in the Outdoors course in the United Kingdom is meant to ‘educate individuals …on the barriers that people of colour face in the outdoors,’ and describes access to the outdoors ‘in this context’ as ‘white privilege.’”
“It’s also designed to ‘foster a deeper understanding of the unique challenges that people of color face when accessing the outdoors,’ according to the survey,” the paper continues.
“Unique challenges”? What, is there an increased risk of predation or something? Do bears and cougars find whites as distasteful as the Left does? (Oh, that’s right: I’m thinking of the U.S. The only cougars in Britain walk on two legs.)
Speaking of distasteful, the Post provides more sordid details:
Shoppers who downloaded the digital course highlighted sections of the “modules” that they found particularly irksome, including a description of ‘white privilege.’
“In this particular context we refer to ‘white privilege’ meaning that your race and skin colour can give you access to the outdoors when others can be excluded because of historic enduring racism and biases,” according to an expert of the course.
In a statement to The Post, the retailer said, “The North Face has always believed the outdoors should be a welcoming, equitable and safe place for all. This course aims to bring light to the barriers to entry preventing all people from sharing equally rewarding experiences in the outdoors.”
The program, which was launched in November, got massive attention after news organ The Sun reported on it. That outlet added to the story, too, writing:
One segment in the hour-long course asks: “How many people of colour do you see on the slopes, on the hills or on the trails?”
It says the “dial” of inclusion “moved further when George Floyd was murdered by the police in Minneapolis”.
It adds that the 2020 killing “fostered a new awakening in the outdoors that racial inclusion and representation matters.” Another segment claims: “Privilege can give us access to the outdoors[“].
… The programme also instructs customers to raise complaints with their own managers if colleagues call them “woke”.
(How George Floyd’s reckless and wild life relates to wildlife was not reported.)
A video on the course is below.
Of course, the clothing brand would want to entice as many people as possible into the outdoors so as to grow its customer base. The problem is that the woke scheme conjured up by The North Face may make its business go south, as the social media blowback evidences (below).
Many MSN commenters, responding to the Post article, reacted likewise. “Well, that just convinced me to NEVER buy anything from North Face, EVER!” wrote one. “(When are these dummies going to realize it’s best to stay out of politics?)”
“I vote/support with my wallet,” stated another. “I will no longer purchase North Face products. DEI is nothing more than propaganda encouraging reverse discrimination.”
Of course, The North Face woke embrace isn’t the first time a company lost face getting into race. In 2015, for example, Starbucks invited criticism and mockery (example below) after encouraging its baristas to initiate conversations about race with their customers.
Then there’s sexual devolutionary wokeness. Just recently it emerged that Doritos Spain, perhaps aspiring to be another Bud Light’s Out, hired a man masquerading as a woman to hawk its products. The company picked a real winner, too. “Samantha Hudson,” as he’s known, “hates the traditional family and has mocked rape victims,” wrote The New American Monday. “And, his X feed shows, he fantasizes about sex with little girls.”
Doritos has since cut ties with Hudson, however, apparently spooked by a boycott threat.
Nonetheless, there still is the Smartfood popcorn partnership with radical sexual devolutionary group GLAAD (example below).
There’s a connection between these last two stories, too. Both Doritos and Smartfood are, interestingly, produced by Frito-Lay, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. PepsiCo, of course, owns dozens of different brands, which produce a multitude of products.
To echo the aforementioned MSN commenter, it is amazing how many companies today are willing to pick sides on controversial issues. Is it the result of “woke capital,” of entities such as BlackRock and its CEO, Larry Fink, pressuring the companies into embracing politically correct policies? Is it a function of younger millennials entering corporate America with their politically correct, academia-borne priorities? Is it both?
For sure is that making your business a woke joke can be expensive. Notably, Bud Light’s partnership with MUSS (Made-up Sexual Status, aka “transgender”) figure Dylan Mulvaney might have cost parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev as much as $1.4 billion already.
That’s a lot of money to spend to be on the wrong side of history.
