The originator of pricey yoga leggings, and other activewear, pioneer of athleisure fashion, Lululemon is Canadian technical athletic apparel that makes apparel for both men and women. The brand sells mostly athletic wear like yoga pants, shirts, sweaters, tank tops, skirts, undergarments for women for men it product catalog includes coats, jackets, shirts, sweaters, tank tops, etc. The brand is quite famous among the fitness community. It also includes accessories like yoga mats, water bottles, gloves, and backpacks. You’ll most likely find a lululemon brand yoga mat in your yoga class than some other brand. Here, let’s know about Lululemon Ethics.
The company produces high-quality fabrics. In 2005, lululemon trademarked its fabric, Luon. It is of higher quality than the average amount of nylon microfiber available in the market. The brand since then has produced several different types of fabrics which include compression and anti-moisture designs.
The brand also sells shoes (both men and women) in 23 states across the country which began in the year 2017. The brand also had its share of scandals over the year but lululemon remained the love of its customer. The brand is valued at over $45billions. The brand offers no discounts and sells around 95% of its merchandise at full price. Its product doesn’t have a long shelf life, doesn’t last for more than five-six weeks.
It is believed to be a key factor in Lululemon’s success and its popularity among customers and it also helps the brand to gain new customers. The brand entered the Japanese market in 2016. The first Lululemon store in Europe was opened in the city of London. The brand compared to the competitors, runs on a decentralized structure. The brand cannot be termed as a truly ethical brand as it had its share of controversies and unethical practices.
Ethics
There were reports of young female workers at the Bangladesh factory being beaten blue and black. The brand was also criticized for taking a considerable amount of timer to sign the Bangladesh Safety Accord. There are accounts of slapping in the face hitting the chest, female workers being called “whores” and “sluts” by their managers, labor has been forced to work overtime to meet the deadlines, and face verbal and physical abuse for leaving early. In 2010, the brand had to recall recyclable bags that were made from polypropylene due to the reports of high lead levels in them. All of these accounts cast a shadow of doubt on the brand’s ethics.
Allegations of Bangladeshi factory workers
There were reports of female workers receiving verbal and physical abuse by factory management if they break any rules or choose to leave early.
Some of the allegations were as following –
- Some were made to work despite them being ill
- There had to work overtime which affected their health.
- Some workers were paid $116 for clothing that is sold at over $180
- They were forced to work to hit the desired target
With all these allegations, the brand said that they will launch an investigation into this matter. According to a newspaper article, a factory worker witnessed all these abuses that were faced by the employees. It was also revealed that some male workers were used to get beatings from the management.
History of the Brand
The brand was founded in the year 1998. Before, lululemon the idea of athleisure wear was unknown. The brand paved the way for the athleisure fashion movement. Today almost every big celebrity can be seen working the athleisure trend.
The founder Chip Wilson took the commercial yoga class offered in the city of Vancouver and found the result quite dissatisfactory. The post-yoga feeling was very close to the experience of surfing. With the love of athletic clothing, Wilson realized that the cotton clothing that is generally worn for yoga classes at the time was just unpractical. Movements in yoga needed flexibility, breathability, and stretchiness, and easy clothing in which a person could easily sweat while exercising. With this thing in mind, Chip built a design workroom for his new apparel. Later due to high rent, he turned the room into a yoga room.
He asked his yoga instructors to check out the new outfits made by him, gathering user feedback; Chip interviewed 100 people and presented them with 20 brand names. Finally, he came up with the name “Lululemon” which doesn’t have any meaning or any source in any language. The first store was opened on the beach of Vancouver in November 2000. In 2012 Wilson stepped down as the chairman of the brand to focus on his other interests. In 2017, lululemon launched a luxury street brand called Lab. The brand in 2019 invested in Mirror, a fitness-inspired startup that sells interactive mirrors, speakers for home workout setups. The brand right now is planning to create content for smart home devices like yoga tutorials, meditation classes so that it can provide a high-class home-based fitness experience. The brand today has over 19,000 employees and is valued at around $52.64 Billion.
Some other controversies of Lululemon
- In the year 2007, it was reported in the New York Times, Lululemon had made health claims about a clothing line called VitaSea. The brand claimed that clothes from this line are made from seaweed which releases marine amino acids, minerals, and vitamins into the skin when it comes in contact with the body moisture. It received a large amount of backlash from the people. The claim was later on found to be plain bogus.
- In 2013, many customers reporting of holes appearing from their clothing
- •The founder also came into the limelight when he made some racist comments. Chip Wilson mocked the inability of Japanese customer’s to pronounce the brand name correctly
- In 2013, he said that the brand does not make clothes for plus-size women as it is too costly. They cannot make pants larger than size 12.
- The brand also claimed that their yoga pants were made using seaweed which is helpful to women’s bodies. The statements were later retracted by the company.
- Wilson also stated that he supports child labor in third-world countries as it helps the brand to produce cheaper items.
- While giving a TV interview, Wilson Chip said that some women had bodies that weren’t suitable for the Lululemon.
- All these statements caused Wilson to resign as the Chairman of the brand in 2012.
