Stand.earth hangs banner over Toronto Home of Team Canada, raising concerns over integrity of athletes’ Olympic apparel

TORONTO (Traditional Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples) — Just over a week before Canadian competitors are set to don Lululemon’s apparel at the opening ceremony of the Paris Summer Olympics, a banner hung Wednesday over the Toronto Home of Team Canada building, criticizing the selection of a company currently under investigation for greenwashing to outfit the nation’s finest athletes on the world’s biggest stage.

Set aloft July 17 by environmental advocacy organization Stand.earth, the “Dressed in Oil” banner heightens focus on the sinking reputation of Lululemon, one of Canada’s most influential companies and the world’s biggest fashion brands, which has recently faced increased scrutiny over concerns about its products’ sustainability. This banner placement is the first in a series of actions by civil society organizations reaching across Canada to France ahead of the Summer 2024 Olympics in Paris to expose Lululemon’s greenwashing on the world stage.

Click here to view folder of photos and video of the banner hanging

“As the official kit provider of Team Canada at the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, Lululemon will represent our nation in front of the whole world over the coming weeks,” Stand Senior Corporate Climate Campaigner Rachel Kitchin said. “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.”

Since 2020, Team Canada has been a signatory of the United Nations Sport for Climate Action Framework, a commitment to effective action to halve emissions by 2030. However, over the same time frame, Lululemon’s climate emissions have doubled, despite public marketing claiming that its products “contribute to restoring a healthy planet.”

The actions come less than six months after Stand’s filing of a greenwashing complaint against Lululemon in February, which resulted in the Competition Bureau Canada officially opening an inquiry in April to investigate concerns that the apparel company misleads customers about its environmental impact. If the Bureau finds Lululemon 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 still has the chance to be a winner at this Olympics,” Kitchin said. “A public commitment to end its reliance on fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy will go a long way to prove that its ‘Be Planet’ branding is more than just greenwash.”

In stark contrast to the company’s ‘Be Planet’ slogan, Lululemon’s Impact Report released in 2023 revealed another year of staggering growth in emissions – in fact, a 100% increase in climate pollution (see page 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 (see page 55) – materials that contribute to climate pollution, cannot be effectively recycled, do not biodegrade, and release microplastics in the oceans and waterways.

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.

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 that brands can make to their supply chains to cut emissions.

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Media contact:
Cari Barcas, Communications Director, cari.barcas@stand.earth, +1 312 720 7940 (Eastern Time)