Want cheaper North Face? Sit a racism course

Customers who take racial inclusion quiz reminding them of ‘white privilege’ awarded 20 per cent off

THE North Face is offering customers a 20 per cent discount if they complete a course on “racial inclusion” designed to promote equality in the countryside. The US outerwear brand recently launched its Allyship in the Outdoors programme, in which shoppers are encouraged to complete an hour-long questionnaire on subjects such as “white privilege” and types of racism.

Participants who finish the course, made up of four modules and constructed in collaboration with several diversity organisations, can receive a 20 per cent discount for online orders. The company said the course was designed to “foster a deeper understanding of the unique challenges that people of colour face when accessing the outdoors”. In one part of the course, participants are told to ask themselves: “How many people of colour do you see on the slopes, the hills or the trails?”

The brand also says the murder of George Floyd in 2020, which brought the Black Lives Matter movement to global attention, “fostered a new awakening in the outdoors that racial inclusion and representation matters in sports like climbing, hiking, snowboarding, skiing and trail running”.

In another segment, customers are reminded of “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”.

Those who take the quiz also learn of three different types of racism in the outdoors: “internalised”, “interpersonal” and “institutional and structural”. They are shown videos of athletes and diversity experts who have experienced these different forms of racism.

Critics have questioned whether the company itself needed to reflect on “white privilege”. Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, told The Sun: “The irony is that The North Face is implicitly acknowledging here that all its customers are white.

“After all, why would black customers need to take a course about ‘white privilege’ to get a 20 per cent discount?”

On its website, The North Face states: “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.”

It adds: “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.”