Lululemon going for GOLD at Paris Olympics!

Have you been watching the Olympics? What an incredible spectacle dedicated to the things that people can do if they put their minds to it (and, wow, Celine Dion at the opening ceremony. What an icon). 

But despite all the strength and ability and ingenuity on display, there’s a darker side to the games. In Paris this year a racist ban on head coverings is forcing muslim athletes who wear a hijab to choose between their religion and competing. Meanwhile, there are worrying reports of the city’s unhoused population being swept away, as the host nation tries to show everyone its glossy exterior. Nothing new there – as usual, it’s women of colour and marginalized people who are pushed out of sight. And the same thing is being done by the Olympic outfitters, including lululemon.

And while the story of the Olympics this year is about going green – from the climate commitments of the Olympic Committee all the way to promoting sustainable clothing for the athletes – the truth backstage is much more troubling. Did you see Team Canada floating down the Seine in the red and white fits made by lululemon? What if I told you that those outfits were made largely from fossil fuels? From the fabrics to the factories that they are made in, it’s oil, gas, and coal. How does that fit within the theme?

Yet as lululemon basks in the glory of the so-called ‘greenest Olympics ever,’ the women making those garments are mostly earning poverty wages while living through extreme heat waves caused by climate breakdown – and made worse by lululemon and the rest of the fashion industry. And somehow the fact that its clothes are made with fossil fuels doesn’t deter lululemon from claiming to “Be Planet” and positioning its brand as a sustainable one. If that isn’t classic greenwashing, I don’t know what is. Canada’s athletes deserve better.

That’s why we kicked off this Olympics season with a bang that lululemon couldn’t ignore. Our actions kicked off by dropping a giant banner outside the Home of Team Canada in Toronto, calling out lululemon for dressing our athletes in oil!

Then we passed the torch over to activists in Vancouver for an incredible street theatre performance at lululemon’s flagship store, where the company was awarded 1st place medals for Greenwashing, Human Rights Failures and Climate Crime! Alongside our partners Oxfam Canada and Remake we’re pushing lululemon’s true climate impact further into the public eye, while making sure that the women who work in its factories aren’t pushed aside. 

Because we still believe that lululemon can do better. If Simone Biles can land the triple flip, lululemon can pay its workers and phase out fossil fuels. This is a vital time for us to call on lululemon to align itself with Team Canada’s climate commitments and do right by Canadian athletes. 

And remember the greenwashing investigation opened by Canada’s Competition Bureau after our official complaint earlier this year? After six months of still no action, we filed a brand new complaint – in Paris, in the heart of the Olympics. France has recently passed a whole bunch of new regulations against corporate greenwashing, and has the power to levy massive fines for the kind of vague green claims that lululemon is making.

Lululemon absolutely can still bring home a win for people and the planet by committing to phase out fossil fuels and transition to renewables, while fully supporting the workers making its clothes. The Olympics are about setting ambitious goals and pushing the limits of what people are capable of – time for lululemon to stop greenwashing, and go for gold!