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So I've been thinking about how outdoor brands want more diverse customer bases but they have essentially changed their marketing from white skinny people to...Black and brown skinny people... this is not going to cut it 1/x
If you want more diverse customers not only do you need to have more diverse staff in all levels of your company but you also need to be far more inclusive both in clothing sizes and gender distinctions for clothes 2/x
Why do we still have so many clothes that are men's or women's? I have number of tops from @patagonia that are men's...why? Because they have deers and bears etc on them...the women's prints are more 'feminine' and often come in pink...why are we still doing this in the year 2020
There is absolutely no reason why the great majority of outdoor clothing cannot be unisex! You can now get a passport which doesn't require you to have male or female but clothing brands are still making us choose?! Why?!
I also can't help but think it would cut down on so much waste...do you really need 20 different men's t-shirts and then 15 more women's t-shirts in slightly pinker hues? No. Its literally a waste.
I would also be really curious to know why, still, outdoor brands are giving women less functionality in their garments?! Why do women's versions of the very same pants have less pockets?! Do we need to carry less stuff? Or are you just assuming our husband's are carrying it?!
Yall should just make like 80% of your clothes unisex and then have some male/female specific stuff for those people who really care about it but literally having unisex, functional clothing would be a huge plus for diversity
Moving on from gender equity, or lack thereof, sizing! More diverse customers are probably going to come in more diverse sizes! Especially if you're trying to connect with people who haven't been traditionally outdoorsy
I don't think I would be considered plus size by any stretch and yet I can't buy pants confidently from any outdoor store online...because usually they don't fit! The proportions you're using are not representative of diverse people at all!
My thigh to waist ratio is entirely different from the skinny models you usually use and I'm not considered plus size. I cannot imagine how difficult it is for plus size people to find clothing that fits in these stores! This also goes for arms too!
I know it's a shocking concept that you can have a slender torso and chunky thighs/arms etc. My point being the vast majority of consumers are not going to be proportional OR thin... so many garments do not have any give or stretch for this!
This is, I'm sure, a result of this continued, and false, idea of what an outdoorsy person looks like. You can be plus size and be outdoorsy! You can be anything you want and be outdoorsy! Yet we don't see that in marketing
Also with shoes?! Why are shoes not unisex at this point?! I would like black hiking boots that the men get...oh but the women's only come in red?! No black?! Why? It is literally so aggravating to me that we are still doing this
I'm a cis, het, physically abled person. None of these things actually stop me from accessing products (apart from the dumb sizing) but what about people who are marginalized and don't fit into whatever pink/blue nonsense categories you've assigned?!
I'm sure it's extremely ostracizing for people to face these categories over and over when in reality they are entirely unnecessary. True diversity is not just sticking a thin Black or brown person in your marketing and calling it a day
Your products actually need to reflect the diversity you say you want in your customers. Your staff hires need to incorporate that, and not just on the floor of the store, in management in marketing and in leadership.
Also...as a woman who is 5'10 i resent the fact that most women's pants do not come in long enough sizes! So I often end up wearing men's pants...which I guess is a good thing because apparently only men deserve pockets!!!
