Famous for its omega shape logo, lululemon® is a go-to in the world of athletic wear. Their leggings, sports bras, and yoga pants are loved for their comfort and quality—but how does the brand measure up when it comes to sustainability?
Lululemon markets itself as a force for good, with a mission to drive “meaningful, positive change in the world.” Yet, it has been criticized for their false advertising, branding themselves as a sustainable and ethical company when its practices don’t always match these claims – for starters, let’s not forget that its founder chose the name ‘lululemon’ because it amused him that it would be difficult for Japanese customers to pronounce…
When there is a gap between a brand’s marketing language and what they actually do, it is worth having a closer look. Let’s explore how sustainable Lululemon really is and whether the brand lives up to its environmental and ethical promises.
Key takeways
- Transparency: Lululemon scored 52% in the Fashion Transparency Index 2023, showing some commitment to sustainability through its Impact Agenda and regular updates on goals, but it still falls short on key targets and lacks comprehensive transparency about material sourcing and environmental impact.
- Workers: Lululemon aims for diversity, global gender pay equity, and to empower 100,000 workers by 2025, while pursuing Fair Labor Association accreditation by 2024; though they’ve achieved gender pay equity, challenges remain in enforcing ethical labor practices across their global supply chain.
- Environment: Lululemon’s “Be Planet” pillar focuses on environmental sustainability, but the brand struggles with ongoing reliance on fossil fuel-based fabrics and faces challenges in water usage and chemical management.
- Quality and Craftsmanship: Lululemon is known for durable, high-quality athletic wear, promoting sustainability through longevity. Their repair and resale programs, like the “Like New” initiative, extend product life but remain less accessible due to high price points.
Transparency
Transparency is the first step in evaluating a brand’s sustainability as it shows consumers whether a company is honest about its impact and efforts. Lululemon’s transparency score in the Fashion Transparency Index 2023 was 52%, placing it ahead of many brands but still falling short of full transparency.
In 2020 lululemon launched its Impact Agenda to share its goals and progress. This framework focuses on three pillars: Be Human, Be Well, and Be Planet, which reflect the brand’s commitment to social equity, wellness, and environmental responsibility. Lululemon regularly shares updates on its sustainability goals through its impact reports, setting several science-based targets. However, these reports show that the company is not on track for some of their major proposed goals, such as achieving “preferred materials” for all their products by 2025.
Regarding suppliers and subcontractors, lululemon publishes on its website a list of their suppliers and subcontractors twice a year. The brand also maintains and publishes a Global Code of Business Conduct and Ethics along with a Vendor Code of Ethics. These documents lay out clear ethical standards that all suppliers are expected to meet.
As consumers, we are seeking detailed information on material sourcing, third-party certifications, and comprehensive assessments of the environmental impact at each stage of production. While lululemon does release annual reports (though the absence of the 2023 report is notable…), more frequent and detailed updates would significantly enhance the brand’s commitment to transparency.
Workers
Lululemon’s commitment to workers falls under its Be Human pillar. The company has set clear goals related to equity, diversity, and fair treatment in the workplace, including:
- To reflect the diversity of the communities it serves and operates in by 2025.
- To expand gender pay equity to all employees globally.
- To empowering 100,000 workers across its supply chain by 2025.
- To achieve Fair Labor Association accreditation by 2024.
The brand has achieved gender pay equity across its global workforce and launched initiatives like the Lululemon Centre for Social Impact, which addresses equity in wellness. However, we are in the dark on whether the rest of the goals are on track or just hollow promises as the company’s 2023 report has not been released.
When it comes to their supply chain, lululemon emphasizes fair wages, safe working conditions, and worker empowerment in its vendor code of ethics. Suppliers are required to meet minimum standards, including no forced labor and maintaining safe, healthy work environments. All facilities producing for lululemon are regularly assessed against the requirements of their vendor code of ethics and are carried out on-site. These include visual inspections of the entire facility, documentation reviews, and interviews with management and workers.
Despite these efforts, the global nature of Lululemon’s supply chain complicates the enforcement of ethical labor practices. Like many other companies in the fashion industry, Lululemon faces challenges in maintaining control over labor conditions, especially in outsourced factories in regions where labor standards are lower. Lululemon’s push for Fair Labor Association accreditation is a positive step, but further transparency around its auditing process is needed to reassure consumers that worker exploitation is being effectively mitigated.
Environment
Lululemon’s Be Planet pillar focuses on environmental sustainability and includes ambitious targets that go from better materials to renewable electricity. The brand aims for 75% of its products to be made with “preferred materials” by 2025 (materials that supposedly have improved environmental and social impacts compared to conventional ones.) and 100% by 2030. These goals include using recycled polyester and launching repair and resale programs to extend product life.
While these targets sound impressive on paper, the company’s actual progress is lacking. The fact that lululemon still relies heavily on fossil fuel-based synthetics like polyester and nylon (known contributors to microplastic pollution) reveals that these goals are more aspirational than tangible. Even though the brand has invested in bio-based nylon through Genomatica, these efforts are still in the early stages and not widely applied across their product lines.
Let’s be real, the goal to have 75% recycled polyester by 2025 is laudable but overdue. Given the current climate crisis, this shift should have happened years ago, especially for a brand of lululemon’s size and influence. Worse yet, the company’s 2023 report, which should provide an update on this progress, has not been released, leaving us in the dark about their progress.
Water usage and chemical management also represent significant gaps in lululemon’s sustainability claims. While lululemon has committed to reducing water usage by 20% by 2025, the reality is that textile manufacturing remains a highly water-intensive process, and there’s little evidence that the company is leading any breakthrough innovations in this area.
Having said this, no wonders why lululemon is facing a class action lawsuit accusing them of misleading consumers about its environmental sustainability through its Be Planet campaign…
Quality and Craftsmanship
One of lululemon’s key strengths is the quality and craftsmanship of its products; in the brand’s words: “quality is the heart of who we are.” It’s not uncommon to find lululemon leggings that are 6 or 7 years old still looking and feeling like new!
The brand’s high-performance athletic wear is built to last, aligning with the idea of sustainability through longevity. Lululemon’s repair and reuse programs, such as the Like New initiative, encourage customers to extend the life of their products by offering trade-in and resale options. And there is more: lululemon will replace any item that doesn’t perform as intended within one year of purchase! (subject to certain conditions).
Regarding prices, lululemon’s products may not be accessible to all consumers due to their high price point.
Final Thoughts: Making Progress
At a glance, lululemon may not fit the traditional definition of fast fashion, as it focuses on timeless activewear rather than fleeting trends. But don’t be fooled, they still produce clothes quickly and in bulk with new stock being added very often.
Lululemon’s website has a ton of information, but it can feel a bit cluttered and overwhelming (believe us, we definitely were!). This will naturally have you believe that they really prioritize ethics and sustainability at every step because how else would they be able to come up with so much information? Well…while Lululemon’s environmental goals may look good on paper, the lack of transparency and delayed timelines point to a brand that is not doing enough. If recycled polyester is only now being phased in, and their 2023 report is still missing, we are left with ambitious promises but few concrete results.
To be fair, lululemon is definitely not the worst offender; yet so far not enough has actually been done. A brand of Lululemon’s stature should be leading the charge. Real numbers, real progress, and less vague commitment are needed if they want to maintain credibility in their sustainability journey. In conclusion, we suggest lululemon to focus a bit more on meaningful action rather than meaningless statements.
LULULEMON is “MAKING PROGRESS” *
*Here is more information on how The Pomelade rates.
What do you think about lululemon? Have you ever shopped anything from them? If not, would you? Let us know in the comments below!
