The CEO of an oil and gas company with offices in Gillette and Colorado is criticizing the apparel company North Face as hypocritical for taking a stance against oil and gas by refusing to accept a clothing order from a Texas company while using petrochemicals in its products.
Chris Wright, CEO of Liberty Oilfield Services, posted a short video last week thanking North Face for being an “extraordinary customer of the oil and gas industry” despite the company’s refusal to fulfill an order of 400 jackets from a Texas oil and gas company because North Face did not want to be affiliated with the industry.
“I went through North Face’s website of wide-ranging products and I failed to find a single thing that wasn’t made out of oil and gas,” Wright said in the video. “Their vast manufacturing, distribution and retailing networks are also large consumers of gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane, jet fuel, etc.”
Wright added that by providing material for North Face’s apparel, the oil and gas industry has contributed to people’s outdoor recreational choices, which has helped North Face’s business,
Liberty also posted a billboard in Denver this week with another “thanks” to the company.
“That North Face puffer looks great on you. And it was made from fossil fuels,” the billboard reads, adding a website also called thankyounorthface.com.
The comments stem from an incident in December, when North Face rejected an order for 400 jackets by Innovex Downhole Solutions, a well drilling company. The company’s CEO, Adam Anderson, told energy research company Hart Energy he was told The North Face refused to fill the order because he wanted the Innovex logo on the jackets and The North Face did not want to be affiliated with an oil and gas company.
North Face has responded to Wright’s criticism (although neither he nor Liberty were mentioned by name), promising that by 2025, 100% of its most used apparel materials will be recycled, regenerative or renewable and the company intends to eliminate all single-use plastic packaging.
