"Woke capitalism at its worst": The North Face racial inclusion course sparks backlash as DEI discount comes under scrutiny

Outdoor apparel retailer The North Face is currently under scrutiny as their DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) course in exchange for a discount has gone viral.

Trigger warning: This article mentions discrimination and biases based on race that may upset some readers. Discretion is advised.

Termed “Allyship In The Outdoors,” The North Face has been promoting a one-hour “digital course about racial inclusion,” the completion of which promises 20 percent off in promo code for online shopping on their website for customers outside North America.

Daily Wire reported it has four interactive modules and attendees needed to answer many multiple-choice questions on various DEI topics such as “allyship” and “privilege” to earn the discount coupons.

As per the New York Post, the course was designed to “foster a deeper understanding of the unique challenges that people of color face when accessing the outdoors.”

“The outdoors are for everyone. Or are they?... Allyship In The Outdoors aims to inspire all of us to reflect, to check our privilege, and play our part in creating a more equitable outdoors,” the course description said.

Meanwhile, Fox Business added how the course aims at teaching how White people never experience discrimination based on their race, while people of color are reportedly excluded from outdoor activities such as sports for the same reason.

In the wake of this, the company is facing backlash for its DEI course. X user @JamesEsses posted on the platform that the move was “woke capitalism at its worst.”

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Internet condemns The North Face racial inclusion course

Recently, The North Face launched a DEI digital course for its customers, the successful completion of which promises them a 20 percent discount. Here’s how the course was promoted online, as per Fox Business.

"Privilege can give us access to the outdoors — that means some people can enjoy advantages that they inherit from birth and/or accumulate over time. For example, aspects of identity that can give privilege relate to race, religion, gender, wealth, sexual orientation, ability, or citizenship status.”

It continued:

"In this particular context, we refer to ‘white privilege’ meaning that your race and skin color can give you access to the outdoors when others can be excluded because of historic, enduring racism and biases."

Additionally, The North Face course also stated that ‘white privilege’ did not mean that they do not face challenges in life, but rather that any form of struggle is not based on the color of their skin.

Fox Business reported how the course asked the joiners to be allies and help combat discrimination on both systematic and personal levels, such as checking the impact it can have in society, including the “outdoors” and challenging “existing policies that exclude people of color” from the same.

"Allyship means playing an active role in making change happen for those who lack power and privilege as members of an underrepresented minority group. The most important thing to remember is that allyship is a verb, not a noun. Allyship is active, not passive which means you need to practice it,” it added.

The North Face course also instructed the attendees that to get the 20 percent discount, they needed to “agree to engage in allyship/activism” as mentioned by the news outlet.

"In our everyday lives we need to consistently challenge and ask ourselves: Will this contribute to making people of color feel welcomed and accepted in the outdoors? How can we show up for others who lack the power and privileges we hold? What are some strategies you can use through allyship to effectively increase ethnic diversity in the outdoors?" the course stated.

The course preached that the goal was to “create a more equitable outdoors for everyone” as it was a “basic right to human dignity, respect, and equal access to resources.”

It also asked individuals to realize that equity meant acknowledging that people came from “different circumstances” yet deserved “equal outcomes” and opportunities.

As soon as The North Face course structure and content surfaced online, it stirred up controversy and earned criticism. Here are some backlashes from @libsoftiktok’s post on X and elsewhere on the platform.

Apart from the mass outrage, The North Face, whose parent company is VF Corporation, was also slammed by DEI experts. For instance, Heritage Foundation DEI specialist Mike Gonzalez told Fox Business the course had aspects of “critical race theory.”

Gonzalez added that the course was an “outrageous attempt at convincing people we live under an oppressive system of racial injustice.”

"Barack Obama was the most powerful man in the world. Kamala Harris [is the Vice President]. She's African American," he stated.

Meanwhile, a VF Corporation spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the course “aims to bring light to the barriers to entry preventing all people from sharing equally rewarding experience in the outdoors,” but reportedly refused to comment on the “white privilege” portion.

They also added how The North Face has always believed that the outdoors should be a "welcoming, equitable, and safe place" for all.