Retailer apologizes for whitewashing its ads
MEC perpetuated myth that only white people enjoy outdoor activities
When Chris Tse, an Edmonton personal trainer, started hiking and camping as a teen, he recognized he was the only Asian in a very white-dominated community.
He noticed it not only out on the trail, but also in the advertisements for backpacks and shoes at the local sporting goods stores he visited, which tended to feature only white people dressed up to head into the wild.
The message, he says, was clear: “The outdoors weren’t really a space that other ethnicities hung out in.” On Tuesday, Mountain Equipment Co-op CEO David Labistour apologized for his company’s part in whitewashing its advertisements, despite recent research showing that more people of colour participate in outdoor activities compared to white people.
In the letter, Labistour acknowledges the company’s past practices of using only white models in its ads that “perpetuated the vastly incorrect notion that people of colour in Canada don’t ski, hike, climb or camp.” “We have let our members down,” the letter reads.
“This letter is about recognizing the role we’ve played in under-representing people of colour in the outdoors, and committing to change. It’s not OK.”
Tse, now 35, says the outdoorloving community has become more inclusive over time. MEC’s own research reflects that: a survey of 1,320 Canadians done in 2017 found that people of colour were more actively involved in outdoor activities than white people.
It also showed a higher participation rate for people of colour in climbing and snow sports.
On the company’s website, it states that in March a member called MEC out for under-representing people of colour, which is why the retailer decided to address the issue.
Tse says reading the letter reminded him of his own experience.
“You would follow those stereotypical lines of Caucasian people hiking or going on long treks and stuff. So we wouldn’t really see that narrative be explored in different ethnicities,” he said.
He said although the apology letter and commitment for more diverse advertising is a good first step, it shouldn’t end there.
“So now it’s putting pressure on them that, ‘OK, you have made the statement, now what are you going to do with it in the future?’” he said.
“I’m happy to see where they take this forward in both portraying other ethnicities that are out there like doing other sports and really empowering people to go out there.”
Murray Fierheller, as the chair of the Alberta Hiking Association, works with an organization that tries to provide a voice for hiking clubs across the province. But in his experience, he’s always paid more attention to the gear MEC would market, rather than the models.
But after reading the CEO’s letter, Fierheller realized the company does have a responsi- bility to represent the diversity of its customers. “When MEC draws that to your attention, you reflect back and realize they’re right,” said Fierheller, adding that from his experience, people of colour make up a large part of the Alberta population participating in outdoor activities.
But he said he has noticed sporting equipment suppliers tend to advertise with not just models who are mostly white, but also models who are young and fit, as opposed to representing everyone who participates in hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities.
The same thought occurred to Tse as well.
He said that in its advertisements, MEC always showed a very uniformed version of the white male, of a certain height and body type, that participated in outdoor activities, and he would like that stereotype changed as well.
“Conventional bodies fit well, of course, in that sort of clothing, but people who have different body types, they move differently in these phases. I think designing equipment for all people is where we are headed next,” Tse said.
He stressed it’s important for people to hold the company accountable to its promise.
“I would really empower and compel people to, if you are passionate about diversity, to hold MEC and, of course, all of the other sporting goods companies to the same level and say we want change, we want this to reflect real human beings and not your regular stereotypes of who these people would be.”