Competition Bureau opens formal investigation into Lululemon in response to complaint filed by Stand.earth

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Unceded Coast Salish Territories) — Stand.earth representatives were notified late last month by Competition Bureau Canada that it has officially opened an inquiry into Lululemon, following a complaint filed by the environmental advocacy organization that alleges the apparel company misleads customers about its environmental impact.

“Stand’s complaint to the Competition Bureau has been accepted and has set off an official inquiry into Lululemon’s anti-competitive greenwashing practices. We are pleased that, through this investigation, the Competition Bureau will have the opportunity to ask Lululemon how it can claim to ‘Be Planet’ while creating more planet-harming emissions every year than half a million cars,” said Todd Paglia, Executive Director at Stand.earth.

• Click here to access the Competition Bureau’s Notice of Inquiry Commencement

In stark contrast to the company’s slogan, ‘Be Planet,’ Lululemon’s Impact Report released last fall revealed another year of staggering growth in emissions – in fact, a 100% increase in climate pollution (pg. 79) since deploying the slogan. The company also relies heavily on climate-damaging fossil fuels to make its products — more than 60% of the materials it uses are fossil fuel-derived, (pg. 55), materials which contribute to climate pollution, cannot be effectively recycled, do not biodegrade, and release microplastics in the oceans and waterways.

“Lululemon’s customers around the world need to know the real impacts of their climate pollution, not the greenwashed version they sell their products with,” said Paglia.

Lululemon is one of Canada’s most influential companies and one of the world’s biggest fashion brands. Through its ‘Be Planet’ campaign, Lululemon presents itself as a company whose actions and products contribute to a healthier environment and planet. Although Lululemon has taken some actions and set some targets to reduce the harmful impact of its business operations and products, Stand’s position in its complaint is that Lululemon’s business is inconsistent with its public claims to be an environmentally positive company.

Stand’s anti-competition complaint, filed in February, seeks a rescission of the ‘Be Planet’ campaign and highlights the need for brands to make clear and accurate environmental claims that avoid exaggeration and outright lies.

The inquiry will assess whether the company has been “making false, misleading and/or unsubstantiated representations,” according to the letter Stand received from the Competition Bureau on April 26.

If the Bureau finds that Lululemon has made materially false and misleading representations to the public, they could be fined a penalty of up to 3% of their gross global profits for each year the company committed greenwashing, potentially amounting to $400 million USD or more. Stand requests that the funds be dispersed by the Environmental Damages Fund and used for climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Lululemon would also be obligated to change or remove its greenwashing ‘Be Planet’ marketing, which is misleading people into believing that buying Lululemon supports – or at least does not harm – climate sustainability efforts.

“As the official uniform provider of Team Canada at the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, Lululemon will represent our nation in front of the whole world. Our athletes deserve to be at their absolute best in a brand that aligns with their values as Canadians, and not misled by deceptive and greenwashing marketing,” said Rachel Kitchin, Senior Corporate Climate Campaigner at Stand.earth.

As the climate crisis deepens, there is increased interest and enforcement of greenwash claims by major companies. Among several opened cases, the Competition Bureau just weeks ago confirmed its investigation into oil giant Shell’s ‘Drive carbon neutral’ advertisement campaign for misleading consumers, after which Shell promptly removed all representations of the campaign from its Canadian website and app.

“Greenwashing is incredibly prevalent in the fashion industry, and the way that Lululemon presents its ‘Be Planet’ branding while minimizing its serious climate impacts appears to fit the very definition of it. It concerns me that Lululemon’s climate program hinges on vague future goals and promises without a clear roadmap, a type of greenwashing I have identified in my research as ‘futurewashing.’ This investigation of Lululemon’s claims is a milestone moment because it indicates the Competition Bureau is now focusing not simply on greenwash claims about products, but on forward-looking claims about the business and brand as a whole, claims like ‘net zero’ and ‘carbon neutral.’ This should send a clear signal to brands across the fashion industry and beyond that they need to provide evidence before making meaningless green claims,” said Wren Montgomery, PhD, Associate Professor of Management and Sustainability at Western University and Co-Founder of the Greenwash Action Lab.

Many Canadians’ concerns about the environment have caused them to shop for their apparel products sustainably, purchase planet-friendly products, and avoid brands that sell products which contribute to climate change or the degradation of the planet. Nearly 50,000 community members have signed a letter asking Lululemon to quit coal and make its leggings and other apparel with clean, renewable energy.

Fashion is a multi-trillion dollar industry responsible for producing 2 to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and those emissions are expected to drastically increase by 2030. The industry’s manufacturing processes disproportionately rely on coal and other fossil fuels, undermining climate stability while also causing a devastating impact on the health of supply chain workers and their communities. A 2021 Harvard University study found that one in five deaths globally can be linked to air pollution caused by the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels enter the supply chain through synthetic fibres made from oil and fracked gas, the ongoing practice of burning coal for heat at garment factories, fashion manufacturers’ continued reliance on fossil fuels for electricity, and the heavy fuels required to transport their goods. Fashion companies transitioning their manufacturing to renewable energy is the most important change brands can make to their supply chains to cut emissions.

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Media contact: 

Shane Reese, Corporate Campaigns Media Director, shane.reese@stand.earth, +1 919 339 3785 (Eastern Time)