Lululemon, the Olympics, and greenwashing

Why Lululemon’s sponsorship of the Canadian Olympic team was met with protests

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games are supposedly the most sustainable Olympics ever. The Olympic Games closed just over two weeks ago and the Paralympic Games began last week. The Games are the first to be aligned with the Olympic Agenda 2020, a roadmap developed to, among a host of other goals, make the Games more sustainable. Paris 2024 organizers pledged to halve the carbon footprint of the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games. They attempted this by using pre-existing venues rather than constructing new ones, renting and reusing AV and sports equipment, powering venues with renewable energy, and even offering plant-based food options. The total carbon footprint of the 2024 Summer Games has yet to be calculated, but one aspect of the Games’s environmental footprint went unaddressed. 

YouTuber Katie Robinson pointed out in her analysis of the 2024 Games that while the French government addressed significant sources of emissions, the fashion behind the Games was hardly mentioned.¹ The fashion industry contributes significantly to climate change and the degradation of our planet’s resources. Why, then, was it sidelined in the strategy to achieve the “most sustainable Olympics ever”? This is exemplified best by the brands that outfitted national teams at the Games. Lululemon is one such brand. It’s the official outfitter and principal sponsor of Team Canada. Lululemon’s partnership began with the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and will continue through the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Its sponsorship at Paris 2024 this year was met with protests. 

Lululemon’s athletic kit for Team Canada

Billboards with the message “Lululemon, go for gold on climate” were displayed throughout Olympic venues and in front of Lululemon stores in Paris. Canadian environmental campaigners demonstrated outside the brand’s flagship store and headquarters. Flyers were distributed to Olympic spectators pointing them to a petition addressed to Lululemon’s sustainability committee. Olympic athletes from Great Britain, Australia, the Czech Republic, and Canada even wrote an open letter to Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald. These campaigns, organized by Stand.earth and Action Speaks Louder, call out the brand’s growing carbon footprint and push it to live up to its wellness image.²

Billboards and flyers from Action Speaks Louder

Lululemon currently faces legal complaints in France, the United States, and Canada for greenwashing. Environmental advocacy organization Stand.earth filed a first-of-its-kind French complaint against Lululemon at a strategic time. The complaint was filed in early July, just days before the brand’s apparel was to appear on Canadian athletes at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. A similar complaint in Canada was filed by the same organization in February. In the United States, a complaint was filed in Florida. The proposed class action, Gyani v. Lululemon Athletica Inc., alleges that the brand engaged in misleading advertising in their “massive, global greenwashing campaign”: Be Planet.

Greenwashing is making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product or practice. Lead plaintiff Amandeep Gyani seeks a class action trial in the United States representing consumers who purchased any Lululemon branded product since October 2020, when the brand’s Be Planet Impact Agenda was released. Lululemon’s Be Planet pillar isn’t particularly innovative. It’s standard; the sustainability report contains general claims, fluff, and empty language. One sweeping statement, however, feels particularly ripe for scrutiny: “Our products and actions avoid environmental harm and contribute to restoring a healthy planet.” Greenwashing accusations against Lululemon are based on the brand’s reliance on climate-damaging fossil fuels in its supply chain and materials. 

Synthetic fibers used to make Lululemon products are made from oil and fracked gas. In fact, more than 60% of the materials Lululemon uses in its products are made from fossil-fuel-derived materials. All of the products in Lululemon’s Paris Olympics collection were made from polyester and nylon. These materials, in their production and after their useful life, have no effective recycling solution, release microplastics, and contribute to climate pollution. Coal is burned to power garment factories in Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia. No time-bound commitments have been set to date for renewable energy in Lululemon’s supply chain.³ Lululemon’s 2022 Impact Report reveals that the brand’s scope 3 emissions, or the “indirect” emissions that occur along a company’s supply chain, have nearly doubled since 2020. The report cites this increase as a whopping 1.2 million tons of carbon dioxide. While Lululemon claims it is taking action with “urgency and intention” in its Impact Report, the brand’s greenhouse gas emissions are set to increase as it seeks to double its men’s and e-commerce revenues by 2026.⁴

A screenshot from Lululemon’s 2022 Impact Report

Inconsistency is at the heart of these legal complaints. Lululemon leads consumers to believe that it is contributing to improving the environment when its “actions and products directly cause harm.” The way the athletic giant does business deteriorates our planet’s health, negating any public claims of sustainability progress. Also central to the complaints is indignation at how one of the top sportswear brands in the world can contradict itself so publicly. The irony of a brand involved in multiple lawsuits for greenwashing claims sponsoring an athletic team at the “most sustainable Olympics ever” was clear to activists and some consumers. Consider though, that the Games were officially sponsored by LVMH and Nike will reportedly be the first major sponsor of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. LVMH is currently under investigation for worker exploitation in Dior’s supply chain and Nike made headlines for eliminating sustainability roles just last month. 

How then, will the Los Angeles Summer Games build on the sustainability strides of the 2024 Paris Olympics with a major sponsor like Nike? Los Angeles is already discussing strategies to use existing venues for the 2028 Games and make the event a “no-car Games.” As organizers develop sustainability plans, who they choose as sponsors will set the tone. Athletic and sportswear brands are some of the worst offenders when it comes to ethics and sustainability; the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games should bring the fashion behind the Games into their sustainability strategy. I’d love to see outfitters and sponsors who innovate with new materials and significantly reduce synthetics. Even though it’s unlikely to happen, I’d also love to see a major sponsor that’s actually championing sustainability and walking the walk.

We’re getting savvy at seeing through glossy language that isn’t backed up with meaningful action, especially against the backdrop of an event like the Summer Olympics. Still, it’s easy to be wooed by “carbon neutral” products, one-off partnerships, and Earth Month campaigns on socials. It’s not naive to want to believe a brand you buy from is following through on its bold claims. But when brands sponsor official teams, create campaigns around their sustainability goals, or make those Instagram posts in April, don’t let them trick you into believing they’re making progress. Check the tags on their garments or read their sustainability report. It will reveal quickly if they use primarily synthetics and if fossil fuels power their supply chains. And keep up with Gyani v. Lululemon Athletica Inc. if you bought a pair of leggings or a sports bra in the past four years. Frankly, we’re all entitled to compensation.

1. Robinson’s YouTube video “overconsumption at the Olympics is out of control” is a phenomenal deep-dive into the problematic nature of LVMH’s sponsorship of the Games and the wasteful culture of merchandise gifting.

2. Nearly 50,000 people signed a letter asking Lululemon to quit coal. An open letter from the yoga community (including former Lululemon ambassadors) called on the brand to live up to its wellness values and convert its supply chain to 100% renewable energy.

3. Vogue Business’s article explores how the brand’s strategies for achieving renewable energy in its supply chain and improving suppliers’ environmental performance are failing.

4.  Join the Action Speaks Louder campaign to call out Lululemon.