Canadian sportswear retailer Lululemon can’t seem to get out of the controversies – after a derogatory remark from founder Chip Wilson earlier this year, allegations of racism within the company a few months ago, a lawsuit from Nike a year ago and not forgetting the transparent one yoga pants a few years ago, the company has now come under fire again. This time it’s about his environmental claims in the “Be Planet” campaign.
“Lululemon is polluting the planet while selling consumers the ‘Be Planet’ campaign,” denounces the environmental organization Stand.earth and calls for an anti-competitive investigation into the company’s environmental claims. The organization has filed a complaint with the Canadian competition authority.
“Lululemon claims to be ‘Planetary,’ but their own reports show that the brand has doubled its carbon footprint since the claim. The company benefits from a carefully constructed image of environmental sustainability and well-being and claims to produce products that contribute to a healthy environment,” laments Tzeporah Berman, international program director at Stand.earth.
Stand.earth accuses Lululemon of greenwashing
“However, their exponential growth is based on fossil fuels, from clothing literally made from fracking gas to polluting manufacturing processes that threaten the health of communities in the Global South. Lululemon’s mantra is supposedly ‘Be Planet,’ when in reality it’s ‘Be Profit,'” Berman continued.
According to Lululemon’s “Impact Report” published last fall, the company’s emissions and therefore its climate pollution increased by 100 percent (p. 79) since the introduction of the slogan “Be Planet”.
The report (p. 55) also makes it clear that the company relies on climate-damaging fossil fuels to produce more than 60 percent of its products. These cannot be effectively recycled nor are they biodegradable and release microplastics into the oceans and waterways.
By filing the complaint, Stand.earth seeks to have such claims repealed and highlights the need for brands to make clear and accurate environmental claims that avoid exaggerations.
“Lululemon states that its “products and actions prevent environmental damage and help restore a healthy planet,” but its products are made in factories that burn coal for energy and in countries like Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia that rely heavily on fossil fuels fuels to power their production,” complains Rachel Kitchin, Senior Corporate Climate Campaigner at Stand.earth.
“Despite these claims, some of the company’s largest suppliers have not taken clear steps to reduce their negative impact on the planet. I would call this greenwashing. If Lululemon wants its words to come true, it should immediately commit to phasing out coal and transitioning its products from fossil fuels to clean energy,” Kitchin said.
At the beginning of December last year, Stand.earth denounced the positioning of biomass as a sustainable fuel in the fashion industry as greenwashing.
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