“Climate Mourners” Visit lululemon’s Downtown Vancouver Stores on Black Friday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, November 25, 2022

Media contact:

Jim Ace, +1 510 290 2448, jimace@stand.earth

Erdene Batzorig, +1 514 585 9260, erdene@stand.earth

səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) Territories (Vancouver, BC)  – “Climate mourners” protested lululemon’s climate pollution at the company’s downtown Vancouver stores on Black Friday, the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season and one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Stand.earth activists – dressed in all-black funeral attire – called out lululemon’s climate pollution with a 6’ tall “smoking” coal-powered factory prop. 

“lululemon gives new meaning to ‘Black Friday’ with highly polluting coal, one of the dirtiest fossils on earth, powering many of its factories and products,” said Erdene Batzorig of Stand.earth. “Burning coal to make clothing contributes to climate change and puts the health of local communities at risk. Which is why we’re asking lululemon to publicly commit to phase out coal and switch to 100% clean, renewable energy across its supply chains by 2030.” 

Burning coal contributes to climate change and can cause heart disease, lung and throat cancers and respiratory diseases for people living nearby. Lululemon’s use of coal is particularly harmful to people and the environment in countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, where their products are made. 

“We’re here on Black Friday during a climate emergency to mourn for the climate and communities that are put at risk by lululemon’s use of coal-powered factories,”  said Christine Thuring, a local activist who participated in the protest. “A company that promotes itself as climate-friendly and part of the holistic wellness industry has no business relying on fossil fuels to produce its clothing.” 

Stand.earth has been leading a global campaign to move fashion brands like lululemon — one of the biggest, most profitable, and fastest-growing sportswear brands in the world — to shift their suppliers off of coal to renewable energy, protecting both the planet and the public health of local communities near factories. Just last week, Stand.earth released an analysis that revealed lululemon’s lip service to climate change – the company’s supply chain emissions actually increased in 2020. In February 2022, Stand.earth continued in its campaign to hold lululemon accountable, criticizing the company’s Team Canada Olympics gear for contributing to climate change and threatening the very future of the winter sports it was sponsoring (see photos).This September, hundreds of yoga teachers and students from around the world sent a letter to lululemon asking it to quit coal and go renewable. Dozens then participated in Stand.earth’s “Yoga for Coal-Free Fashion” yoga protest outside of the company’s headquarters. 

Learn more about Stand.earth’s Fossil Free Fashion Campaign at lulucoal.com.

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