The North Face
Encyclopedia
The North Face, Inc. is an American outdoor product company specializing in outerwear
, fleece
, shirts, footwear
, and equipment such as backpack
s, tent
s, and sleeping bag
s.
The clothing and equipment lines are catered towards wilderness chic
, climbers
, mountaineers
, skiers
, snowboarders
, hikers
, and endurance athletes.
The company sponsors professional athletes from the worlds of running
, climbing
, skiing
and snowboarding
including David Carrier Porcheron
and Johan Olofsson
.
and Kenneth "Hap" Klopp created an equipment retail store that eventually acquired the name The North Face. This name was chosen because the north face of a mountain in the northern hemisphere
is generally the most difficult face to climb. By the 1980s, skiwear was added to the line of products, and eventually camping
equipment was added as well. The North Face is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the VF Corporation.
Today, The North Face is based in San Leandro, California
, near its corporate sibling, JanSport
.
JanSport is the world's largest backpack maker and together, JanSport and The North Face manufacture nearly half of all small backpacks sold in the United States.
The North Face's logo
designed by California designer David Alcorn in 1971, consists of a slightly skewed quarter-circle with two lines running within it. This image is an interpretation of Half Dome
, a massive granitic monolith in Yosemite National Park
, viewed from the west, with the sheer north (or northwest) face of Half Dome to the left.
The North Face maintains strong links with the outdoor community through its sponsored athlete program. Athletes such as Lizzy Hawker who recently won the Ultra Trail Tour du Mont Blanc have benefited greatly from the program.
, The North Face became a well-known brand and its popularity, especially among youth and college students, increased substantially. Due to the high demand for and the high prices of these products, a market developed for counterfeit
(illegally replicated) The North Face goods. Sold on eBay or in other unregulated venues, counterfeits can usually be detected by their misplacement of logos and obvious inferiority of craftsmanship. In addition to this, many counterfeit The North Face products are not made of Gore-Tex
or HyVent, despite being so marked.
For the same reasons that The North Face products are counterfeited, they are also prime targets for theft. In early 2005, a group of teenagers from Washington D.C. were arrested on charges including the armed robbery of specifically The North Face jackets from randomly picked students on the street. Allegedly, the thieves would then resell the products for a substantially decreased price.
The massive counterfeiting has prompted the creation of a website with information for consumers intending to purchase North Face items online in 2004. In August 2007, Businessweek interviewed the owner and featured the site in one of their articles.
Outdoor jackets made by the The North Face are popular among South Korean teenagers as of 2011.
Outerwear
-List of outerwear:* Jacket* Coat* Mittens* Cloaks* Hats* Poncho* Rain pants* Trousers* Scarves*Gloves...
, fleece
Polar fleece
Polar fleece, usually referred to simply as "fleece," is a soft napped insulating synthetic fabric made from Polyethylene terephthalate or other synthetic fibers. One of the first forms was Polar Fleece created in 1979 by Malden Mills, now Polartec LLC., a new, light and strong pile fabric meant...
, shirts, footwear
Footwear
Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....
, and equipment such as backpack
Backpack
A backpack is, in its simplest form, a cloth sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders, but there can be exceptions...
s, tent
Tent
A tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
s, and sleeping bag
Sleeping bag
A sleeping bag is a protective "bag" for a person to sleep in, essentially a blanket that can be closed with a zipper or similar means, and functions as a bed in situations where a bed is unavailable . Its primary purpose is to provide warmth and thermal insulation...
s.
The clothing and equipment lines are catered towards wilderness chic
Wilderness chic
Wilderness chic is a fashion trend centered around the look of hikers, climbers, and mountaineers.Among the most popular brands are Arc'teryx, Columbia Sportswear, The North Face, , Patagonia, REI, Mountain Hardwear, 66° North, Marmot, Merrell boots and Jack Wolfskin...
, climbers
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
, mountaineers
Mountaineering
Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...
, skiers
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, snowboarders
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
, hikers
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, and endurance athletes.
The company sponsors professional athletes from the worlds of running
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
, climbing
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
, skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
and snowboarding
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...
including David Carrier Porcheron
David Carrier Porcheron
David Carrier Porcheron, also known as DCP, is a professional snowboarder from Quebec, Canada. He is the co-owner of Yesnowboards. He is also sponsored by Northwave/Drake and the North Face...
and Johan Olofsson
Johan Olofsson
Johan Olofsson is a snowboarder from Gällivare, Sweden, known for being one of the first riders to take freestyle tricks more commonly performed in man-made terrain parks into the big mountain freeriding environments of Alaska...
.
History
The North Face brand was established in 1966 in San Francisco, when Douglas TompkinsDouglas Tompkins
Douglas Tompkins is an American environmentalist, conservationist and a former businessman.Tompkins co-founded and ran two clothing companies: the outdoor clothing company The North Face; and with his then-wife Susie, the ESPRIT clothing company. Since leaving the business world in 1989, Tompkins...
and Kenneth "Hap" Klopp created an equipment retail store that eventually acquired the name The North Face. This name was chosen because the north face of a mountain in the northern hemisphere
Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
is generally the most difficult face to climb. By the 1980s, skiwear was added to the line of products, and eventually camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
equipment was added as well. The North Face is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the VF Corporation.
Today, The North Face is based in San Leandro, California
San Leandro, California
San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...
, near its corporate sibling, JanSport
JanSport
JanSport is a brand of backpacks owned by VF Corporation, one of the world's largest apparel companies. The company was founded in 1967 in Seattle, Washington by Jan Lewis , Murray Pletz and Skip Yowell...
.
JanSport is the world's largest backpack maker and together, JanSport and The North Face manufacture nearly half of all small backpacks sold in the United States.
The North Face's logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
designed by California designer David Alcorn in 1971, consists of a slightly skewed quarter-circle with two lines running within it. This image is an interpretation of Half Dome
Half Dome
Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California, at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley — possibly Yosemite's most familiar rock formation. The granite crest rises more than above the valley floor....
, a massive granitic monolith in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
, viewed from the west, with the sheer north (or northwest) face of Half Dome to the left.
The North Face maintains strong links with the outdoor community through its sponsored athlete program. Athletes such as Lizzy Hawker who recently won the Ultra Trail Tour du Mont Blanc have benefited greatly from the program.
Rise in popularity, counterfeiting, and theft
In the late 1990s and early 2000s with the rise of wilderness chicWilderness chic
Wilderness chic is a fashion trend centered around the look of hikers, climbers, and mountaineers.Among the most popular brands are Arc'teryx, Columbia Sportswear, The North Face, , Patagonia, REI, Mountain Hardwear, 66° North, Marmot, Merrell boots and Jack Wolfskin...
, The North Face became a well-known brand and its popularity, especially among youth and college students, increased substantially. Due to the high demand for and the high prices of these products, a market developed for counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
(illegally replicated) The North Face goods. Sold on eBay or in other unregulated venues, counterfeits can usually be detected by their misplacement of logos and obvious inferiority of craftsmanship. In addition to this, many counterfeit The North Face products are not made of Gore-Tex
Gore-Tex
Gore-Tex is a waterproof/breathable fabric, and a registered trademark of W. L. Gore and Associates. It was co-invented by Wilbert L. Gore, Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W. Gore. Robert Gore was granted on April 27, 1976, for a porous form of polytetrafluoroethylene with a...
or HyVent, despite being so marked.
For the same reasons that The North Face products are counterfeited, they are also prime targets for theft. In early 2005, a group of teenagers from Washington D.C. were arrested on charges including the armed robbery of specifically The North Face jackets from randomly picked students on the street. Allegedly, the thieves would then resell the products for a substantially decreased price.
The massive counterfeiting has prompted the creation of a website with information for consumers intending to purchase North Face items online in 2004. In August 2007, Businessweek interviewed the owner and featured the site in one of their articles.
Outdoor jackets made by the The North Face are popular among South Korean teenagers as of 2011.