“Will never again buy your propagandist merch”: North Face Pride commercial comes under fire for rainbow-colored children’s clothing 

American outdoor recreation products company North Face has come under fire for its Pride commercial and new line of rainbow-themed children’s clothing. The company recently teamed up with drag queen and LGBTQ+ activist Pattie Gonia for their “Summer of Pride” event series.

As June, which is celebrated as Pride Month approaches, the company designed this event to celebrate the local LGBTQ+ communities in an outdoor setting.

Alongside this event, the company has also launched a Pride-inspired collection of accessories and apparel made with recycled materials. This collection also includes children’s clothing, which seemed to have caused a stir on social media among conservatives.

British internet personality Oli London recently shared a post about the collection, captioning it "North Face went woke." In response, user Gina Bella wrote that she will never buy the company's "propagandist" merch.

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The North Face slammed for launching kids' Pride-collection

The BudLight controversy seems to have set in motion a trend of soaring backlash against brand collaborations with the LGBTQ+ community. Jack Daniels, Target, Nike, and a few more are among the companies that are facing the wrath of a certain section of netizens against such collaborations.

The North Face is the latest brand to be added to the list. Ever since news about the company's Pride-collection launch for kids went viral, many jumped right into the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, calling the venture disturbing and accusing the company of grooming.

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Other LGBTQ+ ventures by The North Face

Apart from their Pride collection and the “Summer of Pride” event, North Face is also pursuing its multi-year partnership with the organization Brave Trails, which hosts a residential overnight summer camp for the LGBTQ+ youth. They have camps in Maryland and California.

The “Summer of Pride” series will visit four major cities in the United States: Oregon’s Portland on June 11, Colorado’s Denver on August 6, Ohio’s Columbus on August 30, and California’s San Francisco on November 5.

In each city, the series will hold a half-day community building program which will be led by Pattie Gonia as well as other leaders from the community. Participants will get a chance to learn from and connect with community leaders during nature walks, hikes, and breakout sessions.

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Target also withdrew LGBTQ+ merchandise after conflicts with customers

A few days ago, retailer Target launched its Pride collection for kids and was subsequently called out for being "woke."

Conservatives were furious with the collection and claimed that Target was indoctrinating young kids with LGBTQ+ and woke ideologies, which they deemed disturbing. The retailer said in a statement:

“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior.”

Pride-themed items which drew negative attention included “tuck-friendly” swimwear, which was designed for trans women who had not gone through gender-affirming operations. However, several videos claimed that these “tuck-friendly” swimsuits were in kids’ sizes.

Though this is not the first time that the retailer has celebrated Pride Month with an array of clothing, the backlash in its aftermath is certainly new. Target has openly expressed its support for the LGBTQ community for a decade. This year’s Pride merchandise went on sale sometime in early May.