REI has released new product impact standards that expand inclusive sizing options and representation

REI

Outdoor retail giant REI Co-op has announced an expansion of its inclusive design standards, a move that could create powerful ripple effects across their more than 1000 brand partnerships. “At our core, we really believe that time outside should be possible for more people,” said Nani Vishwanath, REI’s director of inclusive design strategy in an interview with Forbes. “We also know that there have been a number of barriers in place that prevent people from that imperative time in nature.”

For decades, the outdoor industry has relied on marketing and product design that welcomes a specific customer. This customer aligns with long-held ideas about who embodies rugged individualism, technical mastery, and elite athleticism. Plus-size shoppers, as well as those with disabilities or who are gender-nonconforming, rarely see themselves reflected in this imagery. This kind of marketing can land as an alienating message that their bodies aren’t welcome in the space. REI’s new product impact standards are the company’s way of telling a new story.

The company’s updated standards touch multiple aspects of inclusion, including size inclusivity, equitable pricing across size ranges, culturally inclusive design practices, and more diverse representation. Most notable is how REI is framing inclusion not as a niche marketing effort, but as a significant infrastructural commitment. “We see ourselves as a convener and as a catalyst,” explained Vishwanath. “We have the opportunity as a retailer and a co-op to really set a standard and to drive responsibility and accountability across the industry.”

Rather than imposing rigid mandates, REI says its strategy is intentionally collaborative. “We try to focus on progress versus punishment,” Vishwanath said. That distinction matters in an industry where many smaller brands lack the staffing or financial resources to rapidly overhaul sizing systems or manufacturing pipelines. Over the last several years, REI says it has offered “open source inclusive design education” on topics ranging from sizing to cultural appropriation and gender inclusion.

The company has also built internal reporting systems that allow employees to flag products that may create exclusionary experiences for customers. Vishwanath emphasized that the company does not see itself as “the arbiter of good and bad,” but rather as a facilitator helping move the industry collectively forward. She said some of the most meaningful work happens in one-on-one conversations. “I’ve had the pleasure of sitting on calls with brand leaders where we just have a conversation about not what they’re doing wrong or right, but rather, what would it look like to change? What could be possible?” shared Vishwanath.

REI’s approach includes not defining size inclusion through a single numerical threshold. So, a brand partner could extend their size run by one size or by five sizes and equally fulfill the size inclusivity criterion. This will understandably frustrate some advocates and customers eager for stricter accountability or even a more streamlined shopping experience. To this Vishwanath said, “We’re trying to emphasize progress. We’re trying to think about the principle of inclusion, rather than a hard number cutoff."

Some of REI’s most concrete inclusion work has emerged in technical gear, not apparel. The company pointed to its redesigned Magma sleeping bag line, which now comes in nine sizes after a multi-season redesign process informed by large-scale body scan data and customer research. The redesign uncovered an overlooked issue affecting plus-size backpackers. “We learned that for many folks who were wearing extended sizing, they had to bring two sleeping bags and zip them together. What a challenging experience,” Vishwanath said. The redesign process considered not only body dimensions, but sleeping preferences and movement patterns. “It wasn’t just about the size of folks’ bodies, but also how they prefer to sleep: on their side, spread out. All of that impacts the size availability.” The company says those insights came from grounding product development in “actual lived experience” rather than assumptions.

The company’s updated standards also expand price equity expectations into wearable gear categories, building on a 2023 initiative that called for consistent pricing across apparel size ranges. The decision came after hearing from customers who felt penalized simply for needing larger sizes. “It sometimes felt like a silent barrier to inclusion,” Vishwanath said. “They just kind of had to accept this notion that in order for me to find something that fits, I have to pay more.” The company describes the resulting effect as “compounding exclusion.” Vishwanath added, “Size shouldn’t be a premium."

That position could prove influential in an industry where price disparities for extended sizing remain common, especially in technical outdoor categories where additional materials can increase manufacturing costs. REI acknowledges those financial realities openly. “We’ve had real conversations about the challenges that can come into play,” but the retailer also argues that the market opportunity is substantial. “There is money left on the table,” Vishwanath said, pointing to the large number of consumers underserved by existing outdoor offerings.

Vishwanath says she approached these inclusive standards with her own personal experience of feeling excluded from mainstream marketing. “I came to the outdoor industry not feeling welcome,” she said. “The stories were so limited.” That sentiment resonates with many consumers who feel emotionally connected to nature while simultaneously excluded from dominant outdoor culture and aesthetics. “I’m often talking about the Western, sort of colonial way of discussing nature,” Vishwanath shared. “‘I conquered this mountain. I crushed this thing,’ rather than this deep respect of another living being.”

This broader philosophical shift may ultimately be what makes REI’s initiative significant. The company is not merely attempting to broaden product offering, it is attempting to leverage is centrality in the market to challenge long-standing assumptions about who belongs outside.