Outdoor retailer The North Face is receiving some strong reactions for offering a discount to UK customers who complete a one-hour online course focusing on allyship to make the outdoors a welcoming place for people of colour.
The company launched its hour-long allyship in the Outdoors course in the UK in November 2023, and it has recently been getting attention for offering eligible participants 20% off (which is only valid in the UK) once they complete the program.
The course consists of four modules, including videos, information, and questions about diversity and creating inclusion for people of colour in outdoor spaces.
“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 perspectives of race and racism in Europe, and we acknowledge that the experiences of people of colour around the globe differ,” reads an introductory statement before the course starts.
The North Face
The company said the course is meant to help participants become “a better ally and to make the outdoors a safe and more welcoming place for everyone.”
As participants move through the modules, they receive information about the access people of colour have to outdoor spaces.
“People of colour are three times more likely than white people to live in an area that is nature deprived,” reads one section.
The North Face
Another section defines racism and requires participants to watch three videos about internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and structural racism.
The North Face
The course has since garnered a wave of social media reaction, with some folks claiming the company is adding “fuel to issues like racism.”
What a cheek! It’s companies like North face who add fuel to issues like racism. For the prices they charge, I’ll stick with Primark!
— Chrissy Neill (@LadyChrissy60) March 6, 2024
Well.. another one bites the dust… will not be doing business with North Face.. shame… just a real damn shame…
— Lisa B Thompson (@LBThompson60) March 7, 2024
Others called out the course for “virtue signalling” and being “woke to the extreme.”
The North Face Board of Directors should be more diverse. Take a DEI test to get a discount for their products?! Virtue signaling. I will never buy anything from this company again.
— Kathy (@Kathy4619cat) March 7, 2024
Never again will I buy North Face. They are woke to the extreme!
— Gary Wayne Turner Jr (@gwtjr1) March 7, 2024
One individual said they took the course but called out North Face for “discrimination” because they couldn’t use the discount in the US.
I did end up completing the course. But apparently, I can’t use the 20% discount code because I’m an American (discrimination). If you’re in England go wild. pic.twitter.com/pZtmixu2ku
— River Page (@river_is_nice) March 6, 2024
According to the online publication Outdoor Insight, The North Face plans to add more phases to the course this year.
Daily Hive reached out to the company for comment but did not hear back before publication.
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