Canadian non-profit organisation, Stand.earth, filed a complaint with Canada’s Competition Bureau over activewear brand lululemon’s sustainability practices.
In a press release dated 12 February, Stand.earth said that it wants lululemon to stop misleading customers on the “environmental benefits” of its activewear products.
Unpacking the lululemon Greenwashing Complaint
The complaint is brought under s. 9(1)(b) of the Canadian Competition Act. Section 9(1)(b) provides that individuals may apply to the Competition Commissioner to start an inquiry, provided certain requirements are met.
The complaint states that “lululemon’s marketing activities constitute reviewable conduct under s. 74.01(1) of the Act”. Such reviewable conduct under s. 74.01(1) includes making misrepresentations to the public in order to promote a product.
Stand.earth has identified misrepresentations made by lululemon based on the company’s 2020 Impact Agenda. The third pillar of lululemon’s strategy under its 2020 Impact Agenda is “Be Planet. Our products and actions avoid environmental harm and contribute to restoring a healthy planet”.
Yet, since the launch of this 2020 Impact Agenda, lululemon has more than doubled its Scope 3 emissions, Stand.earth claims, based on lululemon’s subsequent Impact Agendas of 2021 and 2022 respectively. In fact, in 2022, the company’s emissions equalled “the fuelling of over 518,000 passenger vehicles for a year”.
Stand.earth also refers to further issues with lululemon’s practices, including its use of polluting materials, high transport emissions, high use of freshwater, and impact on landfills.
Therefore, the NGO claims, statements made by lululemon since 2020 have been misleading the public and are 'greenwashing', since the company has allegedly only been increasing its negative impact on the environment.
Previous Stand.earth Action Regarding Lululemon’s Practices
In 2022, Stand.earth reported that lululemon was “wildly off-track on climate change” after its sustainability report revealed that it increased climate pollution through the production of its products by 60% in a single year. Back then, Stand.earth already attributed this increase to Lululemon’s reliance on coal-powered factories.
Stand.earth also set up a petition that people can sign to ‘Tell lululemon to stop burning coal to make yoga pants’. The petition’s description cites lululemon’s use of “dirty coal-powered electricity in Vietnam, Cambodia, and China”.
In partnership with Action Speaks Louder, Stand.earth also had many yoga teachers sign an open letter to Martha Morfitt, Chair of the Board of Directors at Lululemon. The open letter says, “almost half of the energy powering lululemon factories comes from burning coal” and that “lululemon’s current climate commitments fail to adequately address its pollution”.
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