Answering the Call: How Outdoor Apparel Brands Use Storytelling to Advance DEI

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) communication strategies can be effective for expanding brand audiences and demonstrating the brand’s responsiveness to social concerns. However, DEI efforts also generate controversy and criticism of the brand. This controversy derives from a struggle between competing social narratives. Considering that DEI initiatives aim to rectify the marginalization of underrepresented groups, they represent a counter-narrative program seeking to change prevailing social narratives that shape cultural beliefs and assumptions. The outdoor recreation industry in the United States exemplifies this struggle between narrative and counter-narrative. Historically, popular media have represented outdoor recreation as an activity performed by white, straight, muscular, and able-bodied men. This study examines the DEI efforts of four U.S. outdoor recreation apparel brands, challenging the stereotype of the outdoorsman. Specifically, we conducted a critical narrative analysis of 31 personal stories from diverse outdoor recreation influencers published on the brands’ blogs. The stories challenge long-standing narratives about the outdoors and connect inclusivity with sustainability and consumer self-identity goals of personal growth. The authors argue storytelling offers a more holistic approach to DEI and avoids common pitfalls of marketing communication centered on diverse representation devoid of cultural context.

Answering the Call: How Outdoor Apparel Brands Use Storytelling to Advance DEI Academic Article