A Vancouver non-profit is asking Canada's competition regulator to launch a greenwashing investigation into Lululemon, accusing the athleisure brand of misleading consumers about its environmental practices.
According to a complaint filed by the Stand.earth group last Thursday, Lululemon's “Be Planet” sustainability campaign, which pledged to commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions starting in 2020, outlined Lululemon's progress by 2022. This is said to be inconsistent with the impact report. Toward achieving climate change goals.
The impact report shows the company's Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. indirect emissions Those that arise as a result of the company's activities (including those that result from the use of its products by customers) are Lululemon said in its report that this area “needs to accelerate.”
The company also wrote in 2020 that it is “committed to investing and partnering to develop sustainable materials that demonstrate our leadership in product innovation and reducing environmental harm.”
Lululemon last year partnered We partnered with a startup that makes clothing from recycled nylon and polyester.However, according to a report from Stand.earth, many of the company's product They continue to be made of polyester or nylon, materials made from fossil fuels.
“In this case, Lululemon tells its customers a lot of things about its products, including being environmentally friendly, climate-friendly, and planet-friendly, but we believe none of that is true,” the executive director said. Todd Paglia said. Stand.earth.
“That's what the Competition Bureau was set up to police, and that's what we're asking them to do in this case,” he added.
Have you ever seen a company use terms like “sustainable” or “environmentally friendly”? That might be a clue that they're engaging in something called greenwashing. yeah.
This isn't the first time Stand.earth has drawn attention to Lululemon; in 2022, it awarded the company the Coal Medal, named after the brand and highlighting its coal emissions. Was chosen Designing Canada's Olympic wear during the Beijing Olympics.
“There's a lot of greenwashing out there. We chose Lululemon because they were the worst, but there are a lot of companies out there that seem to sell greenwashing,” Paglia said. said.
“They are such a big brand and so much is expected of them,” he added. “They can actually be part of the solution to the climate crisis we face by pushing their companies towards what they are already working on.”
Growing public pressure
A Lululemon spokesperson told CBC News that the company is committed to helping create an industry that is “more sustainable and addresses the severe impacts of climate change.”
The company is working on a decarbonization plan with the aim of meeting 2030 climate targets and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, the spokesperson added.
“We recognize that the majority of our impacts stem from emissions within our broader supply chain,” the spokesperson wrote, adding that the company will report on its emissions in its 2022 annual report. He added that
The complaint comes amid mounting public pressure on Canadian brands. A recent article in Bloomberg highlights how members of the yoga community, including a former Lululemon ambassador, are distancing themselves from the company or severing ties with the company after being disappointed in the company's track record on climate change. became.
Daniel Hogenboom, a Vancouver-based yoga instructor and activist, worked on Stand.earth. motion Two years ago, Lululemon called for a transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, a goal the company says it has achieved at facilities it owns and operates.
“They are one of the most influential companies in Canada and one of the world's largest fashion brands promoting healthy lifestyles, but they are leading the way,” Hogenboom told CBC News. Told. “They haven't actually done what they said they would do.
“I think there's an endless amount of potential for really big changes in the way we do business, and I'd love to see that happen.” [Lululemon] I just need to step forward as an absolute leader,” Hogenboom said.
Testing Canada's greenwashing laws
Competition Bureau spokeswoman Marianne Blondin confirmed in an email to CBC News that the company had received a complaint alleging that Lululemon engaged in deceptive marketing practices. “At this time, there are no findings of wrongdoing,” she wrote.
“We are unable to provide further details on this matter as the agency is required by law to operate in a confidential manner.”
If the charges go forward, it would not be the first time Lululemon has been investigated by the Competition Bureau.
In 2007, the sportswear company It was deleted Unsubstantiated claims that seaweed-infused clothing has health benefits have been published following a regulator's decision to violate textile labeling laws.
Keldon Bester, executive director of the Canadian Antitrust Project and former special adviser to the Competition Bureau from 2019 to 2021, said complaints about deceptive marketing are generally resolved quickly, but these cases are He said it could take several years to pass.
“False marketing claims are one of the most frequent cases brought by the department,” he told CBC News. “So compared to other parts of competition, namely Canada's competition law, So it's very common.”
“What we are seeing now with this complaint and the recent RBC greenwashing complaint is that such widespread criticism of potentially misleading sustainability claims is ultimately “The question is whether it will be admissible in the court that makes the decision,” he said.
“These cases will be an important test of the limits of Canada's greenwashing laws.”
Deceptive marketing cases sometimes result in fines for offending companies, but the goal is often behavioral change, Bester added. Still, the Competition Bureau is under no obligation to keep the public updated about active investigations.
“I don't think it's a quick fix by any means,” Bester said.
