In response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, The North Face announced it will join in the global fight against the pandemic with the donation of $1 million in grants through its social advocacy platform, The Explore Fund. In addition, TNF is leveraging its global network and supply chain to uncover other ways to aid those fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. In turn, the performance brand is committing to donating 60,000 gloves to healthcare professionals and first responders in Colorado.
TNF has decided to focus Explore Fund giving specifically on outdoor communities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic. As many in the industry probably already know, gateway communities such as Moab, Bishop and Crested Butte have seen a surge in population as the threat of COVID-19 grows in cities. People who are hoping to escape their backyards are heading to these hubs of exploration and putting these communities – some which often have few hospital beds and perhaps one ventilator for the entire population – at disproportionate risk. Shutting down these outdoor communities that depend almost entirely on tourism is devastating to full-time residents who are often seasonal or contract workers such as climbing or river guides.
TNF’s goal is to find and fund the most pressing emergency relief for outdoor communities dealing with COVID-19, engage industry groups to lift up the working people who support the many different ways that we explore, and provide support to organizations that make exploration accessible as they rebuild and start bringing people back outside.
“When we are on the other side of this pandemic and no longer shut in our homes, we will all need the outdoors and these small communities that make exploration possible more than ever before,” said the company.
Elsewhere, The North Face also made the decision to keep our North American stores closed with a tentative re-open date of May 4.
“We are listening to local government recommendations for select retail closures in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America,” announced the company.
