REI expands size-inclusive standards

Outdoor apparel is the kind of category where “inclusion” usually gets marketed before it gets built. REI is trying to flip that. Its 2026 Product Impact Standards, rolled out in April and getting fresh attention this week, push the co-op’s brand partners toward broader sizing, same-price sizing, and more realistic body representation across the products REI sells. ### What did REI actually change? The update sits inside REI’s Product Impact Standards — the rulebook it uses to set expectations for brands carried by the co-op. For 2026, REI added stronger language around inclusive sizing and representation, while also tightening durability standards and highlighting long-life features like warranties and repairability. This is not a one-off capsule collection or a seasonal campaign. It is part of the standards REI uses across its assortment. (rei.com) ### Why is price parity a big deal? Because extended sizes often cost more — or get treated like a special-case upsell. REI’s new standard says products offered in multiple sizes must be priced the same within a style. Basically, if a jacket comes in a broader range, shoppers should not pay a penalty for needing a larger size. That sounds small, but it turns inclusion from a branding message into a merchandising rule. (rei.com) ### Is this only about apparel sizes? No — and that is the more interesting part. REI’s inclusion language also covers marketing assets, photography, and product design choices that affect who can actually use gear. The standards call for broader representation across race, age, gender identity, body size, and ability, and they ask for on-model imagery that includes at least one body outside the standard size range. REI has also been expanding design expectations in adjacent areas, like headwear that works better for high-volume or textured hair. (rei.com) ### How broad is REI’s reach here? Pretty broad. Retail Brew says the 2026 standards extend across REI’s network of more than 1,400 brand partners. REI’s own standards document also shows this is not a symbolic program sitting off to the side — partners representing more than 96% of annual sales dollars assessed their sustainability and inclusion practices in 2025. So the co-op has real leverage, even if not every item instantly changes. (rei.com) ### Where did this push come from? It has been building for years. REI launched the standards in 2018 with a climate and sustainability focus, expanded them in 2020, and added stronger equity expectations in 2023. The 2026 version is really the next step — taking inclusion out of the “nice to have” bucket and treating it more like baseline product quality. ### What is REI trying to fix? A basic mismatch between who goes outside and who outdoor retail has historically designed for. (retailbrew.com) REI says its teams used about 150,000 body scans of diverse American body types to rethink fit assumptions. That work helped shape products like Magma sleeping bags that now come in nine sizes, which is a useful example of the larger point: inclusive design is not just making something bigger. It is redesigning around real bodies and real use. (rei.com) ### What is the catch? Standards are easier to announce than to enforce. REI works with a huge mix of vendors, from giant global brands to much smaller labels, and the co-op says it is trying to set clear expectations while giving partners flexibility in how they get there. That means progress will likely be uneven. Some brands will move faster than others. ### So what is the bottom line? (retailbrew.com) REI is making a bet that size inclusion should live in the plumbing of retail — pricing rules, fit standards, imagery requirements, vendor expectations — not just in ads. If that sticks across a network this large, it could move outdoor apparel a lot more than another “every body belongs outside” slogan ever could. (rei.com)