An outdoor recreation retailer is vowing to increase diversity in its online ads and workforce after being called out on social media.
In an email sent to members Monday, Mountain Equipment Co-op said the company had let them down.
鈥淗istorically, the models we鈥檝e used in our catalogues and campaigns and on have been predominantly white,鈥� CEO David Labistour said.
鈥淎nd this imagery has perpetuated the vastly incorrect notion that people of colour in Canada don鈥檛 ski, hike, climb or camp. This letter is about recognizing the role we鈥檝e played in under-representing people of colour in the outdoors, and committing to change. It鈥檚 not okay.鈥�
The retailer said its campaign was sparked after a post last March from Judith Kasiama, an avid hiker and a Vancouver-area Instagrammer.
鈥淭here seems to be a narrative that [black and Indigenous people of colour] don鈥檛 enjoy the outdoor compare to their white friends,鈥� Kasiama wrote.
鈥淭his is not rooted in actual reality but a myth perpetuated by marketing that caters to predominately white audience.鈥�
She tagged several outdoor recreation companies in her post, including MEC, Arcteryx and Helly Hansen, and said the brands 鈥減aint a narrative that people like me don鈥檛 enjoy the outdoors.鈥�
Later that month, Kasiama said the company responded to her post and signed her on as MEC 鈥渙utdoor nation ambassador.鈥�
鈥淭his gives me a chance to extend the conversation, speak directly to a young diverse audience and help them make the change they want to see in the world,鈥� Kasiama said in a video posted to the MEC website.
鈥淩epresentation matters because role models define what鈥檚 possible.鈥�
The company released several videos with more diverse representatives, and said it鈥檚 committing to a more varied board of directors.
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