North Face gets Powned

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

Not usually a fan of Newsweek but they accidentally let this one get past their internal censors. Just in case it gets memory holed I'll copy it to here. True North Face

 

It started with a nice gesture. Adam Anderson, the CEO of Innovex Downhole Solutions, wanted to buy his employees a Christmas gift. So he ordered 400 North Face jackets and asked that their corporate logo be included.

Then came the bad news. The North Face company would sell Innovex the jackets but wouldn't include the energy company's logo. The reason? Innovex was an oil and gas company, and it would be a bad thing for North Face's public image to associate itself with the industry.

Not happy with that answer, Anderson struck back with some public relations of his own. It turns out the vast majority of North Face's apparel—its hoodies, snow pants, coats and many other items in its product line, like backpacks and tents—are made with polyester, polyurethane and nylon, all of which come from petroleum. Even its fancy fleece jackets are made of polyester.

"The irony in this statement is that your jackets are made from oil and gas products the hardworking men and women of our industry produce," Anderson noted in a letter he sent to Steve Rendle, CEO of VF Corp. (which includes the North Face brand), on LinkedIn. "I think this stance by your company is counter-productive virtue signaling, and I would appreciate you re-considering this stance."

Two weeks ago, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association decided to have some fun with the situation, presenting the outdoor gear company with its first-ever Extraordinary Customer Award. Dan Haley, president and CEO of COGA, even held a mock award ceremony. "I think too often we think of oil and natural gas as just as fuels," Haley said. "But we often forget just how many other things we have and enjoy in the 21st Century that are made possible because of oil and natural gas," he added, making reference not just to the North Face product line but also to many other products Americans depend on.

"Things like electronics, sports equipment, medical devices, appliances and even dentures and soft contacts," Denver's CBS4 News reporter Shaun Boyd noted in her coverage. The video of that local report went viral, proving that humor is a better weapon in public relations battles than outrage. North Face was unavailable for comment.

In her report, Boyd also noted that "the CEOs of oil and gas companies lampooned the North Face, pointing out that its parent company is building a hangar at Centennial Airport for its private jet fleet."

Anderson wasn't finished. "We should be celebrating the benefits of what oil and gas do to enable the outdoors lifestyle your brands embrace," Anderson concluded. "Without Oil and Gas there would be no market for nor ability to create the products your company sells."

Anderson's letter went viral. The North Face PR team went underground. Their real-life dependency on oil wasn't part of their global branding efforts.

In 2019, the Denver Business Journal reported that the brand paid $10.3 million for 1.3 acres of land to house planes used by its executives for global business travel. Two of its jets are Dassault Falcon 7X's, which cost $54 million a pop, have a range of 5,950 nautical miles and are powered by three Pratt & Whitney turbofans that deliver 6,400 pounds of thrust each. That too is something North Face doesn't include in its branding.

According to The Washington Times, Climate Depot founder Marc Morano called the North Face incident "a prime example of a company pandering to the corporate woke trend."

"If North Face wants to prove their stance is more than virtue signaling, they should refuse to sell their clothing to any customers who are employed in any fossil fuel company," Morano told the Times. "Or how about refusing to sell to any customers who used fossil fuels to travel to and from their stores? If not, why not?"

Morano asked some great questions, but don't wait for answers from North Face. The fact is, the company depends upon the very fossil fuels it purports to abhor, not only to make its products but also in connection with the industries and activities it depends on to propel its growth.

Take skiing. North Face sells some fancy gear to skiers around the world. Its A-Cad jackets list for $599, Brigandine jackets for $749, Purist Bibs for $549, TNF X Smith Mag goggles for $280 and the TNF X Smith Code Helmet for $230. All of which are made with and out of oil.

Where do those skiers wearing that North Face gear prefer to ski? The mountain ranges of Florida, New Jersey, Texas or Iowa? The fact is, the top 10 best ski destinations, U.S. News and World Reports notes, are in Colorado. In places like Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen, Steamboat Springs and Telluride. Locations in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico rounded out the list.

How do skiers get to these beautiful mountain landscapes? Certainly not Uber. Or driving electric cars cross-country and up the mountains. According to The Denver Post, skiing aficionados logged 588,000 deplanements at Denver International Airport, nearly 8 percent of all non-connecting arrivals at the airport. Those vacationers—in Colorado alone—account for nearly $5 billion in annual economic activity, up from $2.5 billion a mere decade ago. All of that travel supports 46,000 jobs. Those workers earn $1.9 billion annually. More facts North Face probably doesn't want its branding department to associate with, either.

There is perhaps no more eloquent spokesman for the oil and natural gas business than Denver-based Liberty Oilfield Services CEO Chris Wright, who recently released a YouTube video in defense of his industry, and the millions of Americans the industry supports. The title speaks volumes: "North Face Disregards the Poor."

He started with some context. "Before our industry began, say 200 years ago, global human life expectancy was about 30 years and over 90 percent of people lived on the equivalent of less than $2 per day. Not many mountain climbers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, or recreational backpackers in those days. There was no spare time, wealth or modern transportation necessary to pursue any of these endeavors. All of these endeavors are only made possible by the dramatic transformations of the modern world that were enabled by oil and gas."

Wright was just getting started. "North Face claims its stance is based on climate change concerns, but that's not consistent with the facts. The largest factor driving down U.S. greenhouse emissions has been the technology advancements from our industry that enabled the American shale revolution," Wright said. "Natural gas now supplies 40 percent of U.S. electricity, rapidly displacing coal and driving current emissions on a per-person basis to the lowest level since before I was born."

Wright noted that he is no Luddite. "I have worked in fusion energy, solar energy and geothermal energy. I don't care where energy comes from as long as it is affordable, reliable, clean and lifts up human lives."

He then went on to point out where North Face's position on oil and natural gas is not only wrong but tragic for poor people around the world. For Wright, energy policy isn't merely a class issue; it's an issue of life and death.

"One-third of humanity still cooks with wood, dung and agricultural waste," he explained. "The indoor air pollution smoke kills 3 million folks every year, according to the WHO. Further, a billion people have no access to electricity and another billion only intermittent access. Widespread energy poverty leads to lack of access to clean drinking water, access to medical care, malnutrition and a poor education. This is the global energy crisis of our time. Why do you never hear about this?

Wright then closed things out with this impassioned plea. "As long it is fashionable to myopically focus only on climate change, the tragic and preventable loss of life, health and opportunity that accompany energy poverty will be tragically ignored. This is wrong and cannot stand."

Will North Face respond to Wright's impassioned plea? It probably doesn't have the will, or the decency, to reply. It's too busy catering to its own image—and the self-image of its customers, none of whom suffer from energy poverty. Customers who can afford North Face gear. And 1,000-a-day ski lift tickets for a family of four per day in places like Vail, Aspen and Breckenridge. And the airfare to get there.

[Eyes Wide Open + 3,539]

5 hours ago, Ward Smith said:

Not usually a fan of Newsweek but they accidentally let this one get past their internal censors. Just in case it gets memory holed I'll copy it to here. True North Face

 

It started with a nice gesture. Adam Anderson, the CEO of Innovex Downhole Solutions, wanted to buy his employees a Christmas gift. So he ordered 400 North Face jackets and asked that their corporate logo be included.

Then came the bad news. The North Face company would sell Innovex the jackets but wouldn't include the energy company's logo. The reason? Innovex was an oil and gas company, and it would be a bad thing for North Face's public image to associate itself with the industry.

Not happy with that answer, Anderson struck back with some public relations of his own. It turns out the vast majority of North Face's apparel—its hoodies, snow pants, coats and many other items in its product line, like backpacks and tents—are made with polyester, polyurethane and nylon, all of which come from petroleum. Even its fancy fleece jackets are made of polyester.

"The irony in this statement is that your jackets are made from oil and gas products the hardworking men and women of our industry produce," Anderson noted in a letter he sent to Steve Rendle, CEO of VF Corp. (which includes the North Face brand), on LinkedIn. "I think this stance by your company is counter-productive virtue signaling, and I would appreciate you re-considering this stance."

Two weeks ago, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association decided to have some fun with the situation, presenting the outdoor gear company with its first-ever Extraordinary Customer Award. Dan Haley, president and CEO of COGA, even held a mock award ceremony. "I think too often we think of oil and natural gas as just as fuels," Haley said. "But we often forget just how many other things we have and enjoy in the 21st Century that are made possible because of oil and natural gas," he added, making reference not just to the North Face product line but also to many other products Americans depend on.

"Things like electronics, sports equipment, medical devices, appliances and even dentures and soft contacts," Denver's CBS4 News reporter Shaun Boyd noted in her coverage. The video of that local report went viral, proving that humor is a better weapon in public relations battles than outrage. North Face was unavailable for comment.

In her report, Boyd also noted that "the CEOs of oil and gas companies lampooned the North Face, pointing out that its parent company is building a hangar at Centennial Airport for its private jet fleet."

Anderson wasn't finished. "We should be celebrating the benefits of what oil and gas do to enable the outdoors lifestyle your brands embrace," Anderson concluded. "Without Oil and Gas there would be no market for nor ability to create the products your company sells."

Anderson's letter went viral. The North Face PR team went underground. Their real-life dependency on oil wasn't part of their global branding efforts.

In 2019, the Denver Business Journal reported that the brand paid $10.3 million for 1.3 acres of land to house planes used by its executives for global business travel. Two of its jets are Dassault Falcon 7X's, which cost $54 million a pop, have a range of 5,950 nautical miles and are powered by three Pratt & Whitney turbofans that deliver 6,400 pounds of thrust each. That too is something North Face doesn't include in its branding.

According to The Washington Times, Climate Depot founder Marc Morano called the North Face incident "a prime example of a company pandering to the corporate woke trend."

"If North Face wants to prove their stance is more than virtue signaling, they should refuse to sell their clothing to any customers who are employed in any fossil fuel company," Morano told the Times. "Or how about refusing to sell to any customers who used fossil fuels to travel to and from their stores? If not, why not?"

Morano asked some great questions, but don't wait for answers from North Face. The fact is, the company depends upon the very fossil fuels it purports to abhor, not only to make its products but also in connection with the industries and activities it depends on to propel its growth.

Take skiing. North Face sells some fancy gear to skiers around the world. Its A-Cad jackets list for $599, Brigandine jackets for $749, Purist Bibs for $549, TNF X Smith Mag goggles for $280 and the TNF X Smith Code Helmet for $230. All of which are made with and out of oil.

Where do those skiers wearing that North Face gear prefer to ski? The mountain ranges of Florida, New Jersey, Texas or Iowa? The fact is, the top 10 best ski destinations, U.S. News and World Reports notes, are in Colorado. In places like Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen, Steamboat Springs and Telluride. Locations in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico rounded out the list.

How do skiers get to these beautiful mountain landscapes? Certainly not Uber. Or driving electric cars cross-country and up the mountains. According to The Denver Post, skiing aficionados logged 588,000 deplanements at Denver International Airport, nearly 8 percent of all non-connecting arrivals at the airport. Those vacationers—in Colorado alone—account for nearly $5 billion in annual economic activity, up from $2.5 billion a mere decade ago. All of that travel supports 46,000 jobs. Those workers earn $1.9 billion annually. More facts North Face probably doesn't want its branding department to associate with, either.

There is perhaps no more eloquent spokesman for the oil and natural gas business than Denver-based Liberty Oilfield Services CEO Chris Wright, who recently released a YouTube video in defense of his industry, and the millions of Americans the industry supports. The title speaks volumes: "North Face Disregards the Poor."

He started with some context. "Before our industry began, say 200 years ago, global human life expectancy was about 30 years and over 90 percent of people lived on the equivalent of less than $2 per day. Not many mountain climbers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, or recreational backpackers in those days. There was no spare time, wealth or modern transportation necessary to pursue any of these endeavors. All of these endeavors are only made possible by the dramatic transformations of the modern world that were enabled by oil and gas."

Wright was just getting started. "North Face claims its stance is based on climate change concerns, but that's not consistent with the facts. The largest factor driving down U.S. greenhouse emissions has been the technology advancements from our industry that enabled the American shale revolution," Wright said. "Natural gas now supplies 40 percent of U.S. electricity, rapidly displacing coal and driving current emissions on a per-person basis to the lowest level since before I was born."

Wright noted that he is no Luddite. "I have worked in fusion energy, solar energy and geothermal energy. I don't care where energy comes from as long as it is affordable, reliable, clean and lifts up human lives."

He then went on to point out where North Face's position on oil and natural gas is not only wrong but tragic for poor people around the world. For Wright, energy policy isn't merely a class issue; it's an issue of life and death.

"One-third of humanity still cooks with wood, dung and agricultural waste," he explained. "The indoor air pollution smoke kills 3 million folks every year, according to the WHO. Further, a billion people have no access to electricity and another billion only intermittent access. Widespread energy poverty leads to lack of access to clean drinking water, access to medical care, malnutrition and a poor education. This is the global energy crisis of our time. Why do you never hear about this?

Wright then closed things out with this impassioned plea. "As long it is fashionable to myopically focus only on climate change, the tragic and preventable loss of life, health and opportunity that accompany energy poverty will be tragically ignored. This is wrong and cannot stand."

Will North Face respond to Wright's impassioned plea? It probably doesn't have the will, or the decency, to reply. It's too busy catering to its own image—and the self-image of its customers, none of whom suffer from energy poverty. Customers who can afford North Face gear. And 1,000-a-day ski lift tickets for a family of four per day in places like Vail, Aspen and Breckenridge. And the airfare to get there.

Great Post Mr.Ward, this type of messaging is long overdue. It is time for the fossil fuel industry to get off there laurels and fight back with messaging that  will "WAKE THE WOKEN MOB". 

Children either learn from sound reasoning or from failure. The operative word here is they do need to "TAUGHT"...As of now it is quite apparent they have not been "TAUGHT"

Speaking to this education this is begging for attention..

There is nothing wrong with the Department of Education that could not be solved with a tactical nuclear strike.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/03/raze-the-department-of-education/

Edited March 23, 2021 by Eyes Wide Open

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

1 hour ago, Ward Smith said:

Not usually a fan of Newsweek but they accidentally let this one get past their internal censors. Just in case it gets memory holed I'll copy it to here. True North Face

 

It started with a nice gesture. Adam Anderson, the CEO of Innovex Downhole Solutions, wanted to buy his employees a Christmas gift. So he ordered 400 North Face jackets and asked that their corporate logo be included.

Then came the bad news. The North Face company would sell Innovex the jackets but wouldn't include the energy company's logo. The reason? Innovex was an oil and gas company, and it would be a bad thing for North Face's public image to associate itself with the industry.

Not happy with that answer, Anderson struck back with some public relations of his own. It turns out the vast majority of North Face's apparel—its hoodies, snow pants, coats and many other items in its product line, like backpacks and tents—are made with polyester, polyurethane and nylon, all of which come from petroleum. Even its fancy fleece jackets are made of polyester.

"The irony in this statement is that your jackets are made from oil and gas products the hardworking men and women of our industry produce," Anderson noted in a letter he sent to Steve Rendle, CEO of VF Corp. (which includes the North Face brand), on LinkedIn. "I think this stance by your company is counter-productive virtue signaling, and I would appreciate you re-considering this stance."

Two weeks ago, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association decided to have some fun with the situation, presenting the outdoor gear company with its first-ever Extraordinary Customer Award. Dan Haley, president and CEO of COGA, even held a mock award ceremony. "I think too often we think of oil and natural gas as just as fuels," Haley said. "But we often forget just how many other things we have and enjoy in the 21st Century that are made possible because of oil and natural gas," he added, making reference not just to the North Face product line but also to many other products Americans depend on.

"Things like electronics, sports equipment, medical devices, appliances and even dentures and soft contacts," Denver's CBS4 News reporter Shaun Boyd noted in her coverage. The video of that local report went viral, proving that humor is a better weapon in public relations battles than outrage. North Face was unavailable for comment.

In her report, Boyd also noted that "the CEOs of oil and gas companies lampooned the North Face, pointing out that its parent company is building a hangar at Centennial Airport for its private jet fleet."

Anderson wasn't finished. "We should be celebrating the benefits of what oil and gas do to enable the outdoors lifestyle your brands embrace," Anderson concluded. "Without Oil and Gas there would be no market for nor ability to create the products your company sells."

Anderson's letter went viral. The North Face PR team went underground. Their real-life dependency on oil wasn't part of their global branding efforts.

In 2019, the Denver Business Journal reported that the brand paid $10.3 million for 1.3 acres of land to house planes used by its executives for global business travel. Two of its jets are Dassault Falcon 7X's, which cost $54 million a pop, have a range of 5,950 nautical miles and are powered by three Pratt & Whitney turbofans that deliver 6,400 pounds of thrust each. That too is something North Face doesn't include in its branding.

According to The Washington Times, Climate Depot founder Marc Morano called the North Face incident "a prime example of a company pandering to the corporate woke trend."

"If North Face wants to prove their stance is more than virtue signaling, they should refuse to sell their clothing to any customers who are employed in any fossil fuel company," Morano told the Times. "Or how about refusing to sell to any customers who used fossil fuels to travel to and from their stores? If not, why not?"

Morano asked some great questions, but don't wait for answers from North Face. The fact is, the company depends upon the very fossil fuels it purports to abhor, not only to make its products but also in connection with the industries and activities it depends on to propel its growth.

Take skiing. North Face sells some fancy gear to skiers around the world. Its A-Cad jackets list for $599, Brigandine jackets for $749, Purist Bibs for $549, TNF X Smith Mag goggles for $280 and the TNF X Smith Code Helmet for $230. All of which are made with and out of oil.

Where do those skiers wearing that North Face gear prefer to ski? The mountain ranges of Florida, New Jersey, Texas or Iowa? The fact is, the top 10 best ski destinations, U.S. News and World Reports notes, are in Colorado. In places like Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen, Steamboat Springs and Telluride. Locations in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico rounded out the list.

How do skiers get to these beautiful mountain landscapes? Certainly not Uber. Or driving electric cars cross-country and up the mountains. According to The Denver Post, skiing aficionados logged 588,000 deplanements at Denver International Airport, nearly 8 percent of all non-connecting arrivals at the airport. Those vacationers—in Colorado alone—account for nearly $5 billion in annual economic activity, up from $2.5 billion a mere decade ago. All of that travel supports 46,000 jobs. Those workers earn $1.9 billion annually. More facts North Face probably doesn't want its branding department to associate with, either.

There is perhaps no more eloquent spokesman for the oil and natural gas business than Denver-based Liberty Oilfield Services CEO Chris Wright, who recently released a YouTube video in defense of his industry, and the millions of Americans the industry supports. The title speaks volumes: "North Face Disregards the Poor."

He started with some context. "Before our industry began, say 200 years ago, global human life expectancy was about 30 years and over 90 percent of people lived on the equivalent of less than $2 per day. Not many mountain climbers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, or recreational backpackers in those days. There was no spare time, wealth or modern transportation necessary to pursue any of these endeavors. All of these endeavors are only made possible by the dramatic transformations of the modern world that were enabled by oil and gas."

Wright was just getting started. "North Face claims its stance is based on climate change concerns, but that's not consistent with the facts. The largest factor driving down U.S. greenhouse emissions has been the technology advancements from our industry that enabled the American shale revolution," Wright said. "Natural gas now supplies 40 percent of U.S. electricity, rapidly displacing coal and driving current emissions on a per-person basis to the lowest level since before I was born."

Wright noted that he is no Luddite. "I have worked in fusion energy, solar energy and geothermal energy. I don't care where energy comes from as long as it is affordable, reliable, clean and lifts up human lives."

He then went on to point out where North Face's position on oil and natural gas is not only wrong but tragic for poor people around the world. For Wright, energy policy isn't merely a class issue; it's an issue of life and death.

"One-third of humanity still cooks with wood, dung and agricultural waste," he explained. "The indoor air pollution smoke kills 3 million folks every year, according to the WHO. Further, a billion people have no access to electricity and another billion only intermittent access. Widespread energy poverty leads to lack of access to clean drinking water, access to medical care, malnutrition and a poor education. This is the global energy crisis of our time. Why do you never hear about this?

Wright then closed things out with this impassioned plea. "As long it is fashionable to myopically focus only on climate change, the tragic and preventable loss of life, health and opportunity that accompany energy poverty will be tragically ignored. This is wrong and cannot stand."

Will North Face respond to Wright's impassioned plea? It probably doesn't have the will, or the decency, to reply. It's too busy catering to its own image—and the self-image of its customers, none of whom suffer from energy poverty. Customers who can afford North Face gear. And 1,000-a-day ski lift tickets for a family of four per day in places like Vail, Aspen and Breckenridge. And the airfare to get there.

Oh, the irony!  So many woke naturists, using the good clean North Face company's petroleum based products, whole lines of their products.  Maybe they can make some of it out of hemp?  They'll have to stop toking and start thinking about that.  North Face sounded like an environmentally friendly company.  Wake up kids, things are not always as your professor claimed in school.  The real world is worth looking into from time to time.

[Symmetry + 109]

Oil is great stuff; you can make lots of cool things with it. Unfortunately, the vast majority is just burnt - so much so it is often just referred to as "energy."

You can make these products without oil easily, just not cheaply.

Grow a sugar beat, ferment sugar to ethanol, dehydrate ethanol to ethylene, polymerize ethylene to PE plastic.  If you want a longer chain polymer just use animal or plant fatty acids.

Furthermore, wool and down are regaining market share. These companies will expedite their phase-out of petrochemicals to green their brand.

Lastly, if EV's significantly reduce fuel consumption some producers / refineries will not remain profitable running off just byproducts streams.  Right now about 45% of oil is burnt as gasoline, heavier fuels adds another 20%. Petrochemicals feedstocks is a small percentage.

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-products/use-of-oil.php

[Symmetry + 109]

5 hours ago, Dan Warnick said:

 Maybe they can make some of it out of hemp?

All of it if desired.  Organic chemistry is great stuff, we can basically make or break bonds at will. 

[Eyes Wide Open + 3,539]

35 minutes ago, Symmetry said:

All of it if desired.  Organic chemistry is great stuff, we can basically make or break bonds at will. 

Your mission, BIG E, should you choose/decide to accept it, ..would be to design and implement the strategies of the Green Movement. No more commentary on such matters until fully implemented with a working model.

• As always, should you or any of your Green Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape/disc will self-destruct in five/ten seconds. Good luck, Big E/Eye's.

I cannot tell articulate as to just why that particular moment in time came to mind...  Such is Life!

Satire you just have to love it!

Edited March 24, 2021 by Eyes Wide Open

[ronwagn + 6,290]

7 hours ago, Ward Smith said:

Not usually a fan of Newsweek but they accidentally let this one get past their internal censors. Just in case it gets memory holed I'll copy it to here. True North Face

 

It started with a nice gesture. Adam Anderson, the CEO of Innovex Downhole Solutions, wanted to buy his employees a Christmas gift. So he ordered 400 North Face jackets and asked that their corporate logo be included.

Then came the bad news. The North Face company would sell Innovex the jackets but wouldn't include the energy company's logo. The reason? Innovex was an oil and gas company, and it would be a bad thing for North Face's public image to associate itself with the industry.

Not happy with that answer, Anderson struck back with some public relations of his own. It turns out the vast majority of North Face's apparel—its hoodies, snow pants, coats and many other items in its product line, like backpacks and tents—are made with polyester, polyurethane and nylon, all of which come from petroleum. Even its fancy fleece jackets are made of polyester.

"The irony in this statement is that your jackets are made from oil and gas products the hardworking men and women of our industry produce," Anderson noted in a letter he sent to Steve Rendle, CEO of VF Corp. (which includes the North Face brand), on LinkedIn. "I think this stance by your company is counter-productive virtue signaling, and I would appreciate you re-considering this stance."

Two weeks ago, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association decided to have some fun with the situation, presenting the outdoor gear company with its first-ever Extraordinary Customer Award. Dan Haley, president and CEO of COGA, even held a mock award ceremony. "I think too often we think of oil and natural gas as just as fuels," Haley said. "But we often forget just how many other things we have and enjoy in the 21st Century that are made possible because of oil and natural gas," he added, making reference not just to the North Face product line but also to many other products Americans depend on.

"Things like electronics, sports equipment, medical devices, appliances and even dentures and soft contacts," Denver's CBS4 News reporter Shaun Boyd noted in her coverage. The video of that local report went viral, proving that humor is a better weapon in public relations battles than outrage. North Face was unavailable for comment.

In her report, Boyd also noted that "the CEOs of oil and gas companies lampooned the North Face, pointing out that its parent company is building a hangar at Centennial Airport for its private jet fleet."

Anderson wasn't finished. "We should be celebrating the benefits of what oil and gas do to enable the outdoors lifestyle your brands embrace," Anderson concluded. "Without Oil and Gas there would be no market for nor ability to create the products your company sells."

Anderson's letter went viral. The North Face PR team went underground. Their real-life dependency on oil wasn't part of their global branding efforts.

In 2019, the Denver Business Journal reported that the brand paid $10.3 million for 1.3 acres of land to house planes used by its executives for global business travel. Two of its jets are Dassault Falcon 7X's, which cost $54 million a pop, have a range of 5,950 nautical miles and are powered by three Pratt & Whitney turbofans that deliver 6,400 pounds of thrust each. That too is something North Face doesn't include in its branding.

According to The Washington Times, Climate Depot founder Marc Morano called the North Face incident "a prime example of a company pandering to the corporate woke trend."

"If North Face wants to prove their stance is more than virtue signaling, they should refuse to sell their clothing to any customers who are employed in any fossil fuel company," Morano told the Times. "Or how about refusing to sell to any customers who used fossil fuels to travel to and from their stores? If not, why not?"

Morano asked some great questions, but don't wait for answers from North Face. The fact is, the company depends upon the very fossil fuels it purports to abhor, not only to make its products but also in connection with the industries and activities it depends on to propel its growth.

Take skiing. North Face sells some fancy gear to skiers around the world. Its A-Cad jackets list for $599, Brigandine jackets for $749, Purist Bibs for $549, TNF X Smith Mag goggles for $280 and the TNF X Smith Code Helmet for $230. All of which are made with and out of oil.

Where do those skiers wearing that North Face gear prefer to ski? The mountain ranges of Florida, New Jersey, Texas or Iowa? The fact is, the top 10 best ski destinations, U.S. News and World Reports notes, are in Colorado. In places like Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen, Steamboat Springs and Telluride. Locations in Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico rounded out the list.

How do skiers get to these beautiful mountain landscapes? Certainly not Uber. Or driving electric cars cross-country and up the mountains. According to The Denver Post, skiing aficionados logged 588,000 deplanements at Denver International Airport, nearly 8 percent of all non-connecting arrivals at the airport. Those vacationers—in Colorado alone—account for nearly $5 billion in annual economic activity, up from $2.5 billion a mere decade ago. All of that travel supports 46,000 jobs. Those workers earn $1.9 billion annually. More facts North Face probably doesn't want its branding department to associate with, either.

There is perhaps no more eloquent spokesman for the oil and natural gas business than Denver-based Liberty Oilfield Services CEO Chris Wright, who recently released a YouTube video in defense of his industry, and the millions of Americans the industry supports. The title speaks volumes: "North Face Disregards the Poor."

He started with some context. "Before our industry began, say 200 years ago, global human life expectancy was about 30 years and over 90 percent of people lived on the equivalent of less than $2 per day. Not many mountain climbers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, or recreational backpackers in those days. There was no spare time, wealth or modern transportation necessary to pursue any of these endeavors. All of these endeavors are only made possible by the dramatic transformations of the modern world that were enabled by oil and gas."

Wright was just getting started. "North Face claims its stance is based on climate change concerns, but that's not consistent with the facts. The largest factor driving down U.S. greenhouse emissions has been the technology advancements from our industry that enabled the American shale revolution," Wright said. "Natural gas now supplies 40 percent of U.S. electricity, rapidly displacing coal and driving current emissions on a per-person basis to the lowest level since before I was born."

Wright noted that he is no Luddite. "I have worked in fusion energy, solar energy and geothermal energy. I don't care where energy comes from as long as it is affordable, reliable, clean and lifts up human lives."

He then went on to point out where North Face's position on oil and natural gas is not only wrong but tragic for poor people around the world. For Wright, energy policy isn't merely a class issue; it's an issue of life and death.

"One-third of humanity still cooks with wood, dung and agricultural waste," he explained. "The indoor air pollution smoke kills 3 million folks every year, according to the WHO. Further, a billion people have no access to electricity and another billion only intermittent access. Widespread energy poverty leads to lack of access to clean drinking water, access to medical care, malnutrition and a poor education. This is the global energy crisis of our time. Why do you never hear about this?

Wright then closed things out with this impassioned plea. "As long it is fashionable to myopically focus only on climate change, the tragic and preventable loss of life, health and opportunity that accompany energy poverty will be tragically ignored. This is wrong and cannot stand."

Will North Face respond to Wright's impassioned plea? It probably doesn't have the will, or the decency, to reply. It's too busy catering to its own image—and the self-image of its customers, none of whom suffer from energy poverty. Customers who can afford North Face gear. And 1,000-a-day ski lift tickets for a family of four per day in places like Vail, Aspen and Breckenridge. And the airfare to get there.

Bravo!

[ronwagn + 6,290]

This reminds me of when Phillips 66 presented all of its office staff with Phillips 66 monogrammed ties made of Olefin. That was about the time I became a big fan of polyester clothing because it required no ironing or dry cleaning. 

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

From their Hong Kong website:

The Colorado Oil & Gas Association is using the North Farce incident as a springboard for a new campaign, called "Fueling Our Lives".

Colorado Oil & Gas Taunts The North Face At Mock Award Ceremony (nice local Colorado news clip panning North Face and chuckling at the irony)

And here's the flyer for the Fueling Our Lives campaign:

Fueling Our Lives

[Eyes Wide Open + 3,539]

25 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

This reminds me of when Phillips 66 presented all of its office staff with Phillips 66 monogrammed ties made of Olefin. That was about the time I became a big fan of polyester clothing because it required no ironing or dry cleaning. 

Oil company's used to do quite a bit of PR back in the day, my father was involved with Texaco which did a lot of public PR. Today they are silent...Odd i still remember the JIngle..

You can trust your car to the man who wears the star..the big bright Texaco Star. LMAO...that was then this is now...

 

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

1 minute ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

Oil company's used to do quite a bit of PR back in the day, my father was involved with Texaco which did a lot of public PR. Today they are silent...Odd i still remember the JIngle..

You can trust your car to the man who wears the star..the big bright Texaco Star. LMAO...that was then this is now...

 

We had a Texaco station in our little town of 1,000 people, but I never got one of those tankers!  It would have gone well with my tractors and HotWheels.  The place where our Texaco was has now been bulldozed, covered over, and a clean, well-run repair shop was built and is still in business.

What they bulldozed was a mess, even by those days' standards: wrecked cars were always towed there by them since they had the only "wrecker" (What tow trucks used to be called.  Remember?) in town and they sat there for a long time until they were sold for scrap; Gary and his sons just dumped the oil-change oil, anti-freeze, and everything else outside the building, right on the ground(!); the gas tanks underground leaked, and the place just reeked of oil and gas, even Gary and his sons looked like oil field workers, and this was in Illinois farm country!  I loved it when Dad would take me there with him  .

Ah, those were the days!  LOL!

[Eyes Wide Open + 3,539]

1 hour ago, Dan Warnick said:

We had a Texaco station in our little town of 1,000 people, but I never got one of those tankers!  It would have gone well with my tractors and HotWheels.  The place where our Texaco was has now been bulldozed, covered over, and a clean, well-run repair shop was built and is still in business.

What they bulldozed was a mess, even by those days' standards: wrecked cars were always towed there by them since they had the only "wrecker" (What tow trucks used to be called.  Remember?) in town and they sat there for a long time until they were sold for scrap; Gary and his sons just dumped the oil-change oil, anti-freeze, and everything else outside the building, right on the ground(!); the gas tanks underground leaked, and the place just reeked of oil and gas, even Gary and his sons looked like oil field workers, and this was in Illinois farm country!  I loved it when Dad would take me there with him  .

Ah, those were the days!  LOL!

Yes i do remember quite a bit of that time, perhaps a golden age for the US and oil and the ME. Are you aware Iran and Iraq once had cities on par with Paris? Then the revolution began and destroyed a beautiful country....Now that is a opinion,,,Iranian city circa 1970.

When Westerners think of Iran today, images of women wearing chadors, American flags burning, and militant crowds shouting nationalistic slogans often come to mind. But those who have memories of Tehran
in the 1960s and 1970s paint a very different portrait of Iranian life.

 

Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country's capital was a cultural vanguard. The New York Times notes, "Until the revolution, Iran was among the most cultured, cosmopolitan countries in the region. It had a progressive movement in art and literature and a sophisticated film and television industry." Its education system welcomed both women and men, and jet-setting Tehrani urbanites headed to midcentury modern ski chalets in the Alborz Mountains. Kaveh Farrokh, now an author living in Canada, remembers summers as a young man spent in the city watching American movies at high-end cinemas and lounging at the cutting-edge airport.

 

Life was not an idyll for all Iranians, however. Social and economic inequalities under the Shah of Iran created incredible want for some and a world of plenty for others. These tensions contributed to the 1979 overthrow of the shah's government and the Islamic revolution that shapes the country to this day.

 

Above, an aerial view of Valiasr Square in 1971.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Eyes Wide Open

[Wombat + 1,028]

11 hours ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

Yes i do remember quite a bit of that time, perhaps a golden age for the US and oil and the ME. Are you aware Iran and Iraq once had cities on par with Paris? Then the revolution began and destroyed a beautiful country....Now that is a opinion,,,Iranian city circa 1970.

When Westerners think of Iran today, images of women wearing chadors, American flags burning, and militant crowds shouting nationalistic slogans often come to mind. But those who have memories of Tehran
in the 1960s and 1970s paint a very different portrait of Iranian life.

 

Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country's capital was a cultural vanguard. The New York Times notes, "Until the revolution, Iran was among the most cultured, cosmopolitan countries in the region. It had a progressive movement in art and literature and a sophisticated film and television industry." Its education system welcomed both women and men, and jet-setting Tehrani urbanites headed to midcentury modern ski chalets in the Alborz Mountains. Kaveh Farrokh, now an author living in Canada, remembers summers as a young man spent in the city watching American movies at high-end cinemas and lounging at the cutting-edge airport.

 

Life was not an idyll for all Iranians, however. Social and economic inequalities under the Shah of Iran created incredible want for some and a world of plenty for others. These tensions contributed to the 1979 overthrow of the shah's government and the Islamic revolution that shapes the country to this day.

 

Above, an aerial view of Valiasr Square in 1971.

 

 

Mr EWO, can you tell me off-hand what the pop'n of Iran was back in 1970? I will try to google it and add to your comment in a moment.

 

[JoMack + 547]

13 hours ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

Your mission, BIG E, should you choose/decide to accept it, ..would be to design and implement the strategies of the Green Movement. No more commentary on such matters until fully implemented with a working model.

• As always, should you or any of your Green Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape/disc will self-destruct in five/ten seconds. Good luck, Big E/Eye's.

I cannot tell articulate as to just why that particular moment in time came to mind...  Such is Life!

Satire you just have to love it!

Yup, satire is the lowest form of wit.  Symmetry dreams this crap up all the time.  It is honestly great fun to read but put into reality, uh, no chance.

[Wombat + 1,028]

As I suspected, Iran's pop'n was 28 million in 1970, and is now 84 million.  To put that in perspective, Saudi Arabia has a pop'n of 25 million, pump approx 10mb/d, and require $80/barrel to balance the books. In other words, Iran could double their oil supply to match SA, but with 3 times the pop'n, would require $240 to achieve the same standard of living! It is funny how the world looks at the Saudi's and the Emirates or Qatar, and thinks oil = riches without considering population size. I have heard from many exiled Iranians how wonderful life was for them under the Shah, but I grew up in PNG, one of the poorest nations on the planet despite it's bountiful natural assets so I have a fair idea what life would have been like outside of Tehran at the time  A recipe for unrest, which I hear was aided and abetted by the CIA.

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

26 minutes ago, Wombat said:

 A recipe for unrest, which I hear was aided and abetted by the CIA.

Perhaps the KGB instead, but who knows anymore? The Intel agencies have all been in cahoots forever, working in "their countries' interests" is long ago in the rear view mirror. Now they work for their "own" interests, which primarily involves raising the value of their portfolio.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

21 hours ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

Oil company's used to do quite a bit of PR back in the day, my father was involved with Texaco which did a lot of public PR. Today they are silent...Odd i still remember the JIngle..

You can trust your car to the man who wears the star..the big bright Texaco Star. LMAO...that was then this is now...

 

That was and is right on the mark. The executives  and other leaders of today are like eunuchs compared to those of the post war era. They should still be promoting like that. One of my first toys was a metal service station I had to assemble. Each company had their own favorites. Dino the Dinosaur, A basset hound for Tidewater Oil, etc. 

Edited March 24, 2021 by ronwagn
add

[Symmetry + 109]

Some of that gas station / oil stuff is worth loads of money.

I enjoy looking through antique stores.

 

[Eyes Wide Open + 3,539]

8 hours ago, Wombat said:

As I suspected, Iran's pop'n was 28 million in 1970, and is now 84 million.  To put that in perspective, Saudi Arabia has a pop'n of 25 million, pump approx 10mb/d, and require $80/barrel to balance the books. In other words, Iran could double their oil supply to match SA, but with 3 times the pop'n, would require $240 to achieve the same standard of living! It is funny how the world looks at the Saudi's and the Emirates or Qatar, and thinks oil = riches without considering population size. I have heard from many exiled Iranians how wonderful life was for them under the Shah, but I grew up in PNG, one of the poorest nations on the planet despite it's bountiful natural assets so I have a fair idea what life would have been like outside of Tehran at the time  A recipe for unrest, which I hear was aided and abetted by the CIA.

Mr Wombat the price of a barrel of oil in the 70's was $3 and some change. I can assure you that Iran's output at the time was not much larger. Having lived thru that time,personally witnessed that time..i have a very very very dim view of the power changes..Did i mention Extremely Dimm View.

[Eyes Wide Open + 3,539]

40 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

That was and is right on the mark. The executives  and other leaders of today are like eunuchs compared to those of the post war era. They should still be promoting like that. One of my first toys was a metal service station I had to assemble. Each company had their own favorites. Dino the Dinosaur, A basset hound for Tidewater Oil, etc. 

Much has changed, if i well versed in the art of writing it would be quite entertaining to write a perspective on what used to be...what happened...and just how the Hell did we get here. Looking and reflecting back on this thread one can understand the how America's youth were frightened by Trump....There is no reference...it is best i cut here. 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2021 by Eyes Wide Open

[ronwagn + 6,290]

My grandson loves toy trucks. I might find him a vintage metal gas station. 

[Symmetry + 109]

38 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

My grandson loves toy trucks. I might find him a vintage metal gas station. 

For looking at not playing with!

The most expensive old toys / collectibles are the ones that were easily breakable...

 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

19 hours ago, Symmetry said:

For looking at not playing with!

The most expensive old toys / collectibles are the ones that were easily breakable...

 

No, it is for playing with and possibly destroying. His favorite is a trash truck. He has all sizes of cars and trucks.  

[Dan Warnick + 6,100]

6 hours ago, ronwagn said:

On 3/25/2021 at 10:27 AM, Symmetry said:

For looking at not playing with!

The most expensive old toys / collectibles are the ones that were easily breakable...

 

No, it is for playing with and possibly destroying. His favorite is a trash truck. He has all sizes of cars and trucks. 

Age and political differences, shown in 5 short sentences!  😉😁😂🤣

[Symmetry + 109]

8 hours ago, ronwagn said:

No, it is for playing with and possibly destroying.

That is exactly what makes the rare ones expensive.

Buy two and let the kids destroy one, the second could pay for their retirement in 25 years.