It is alleged that Lululemon Athletica Inc. uses deceptive greenwashing techniques to trick customers into believing that its products are more ecologically friendly and sustainable than they actually are. A class action lawsuit was filed last Friday in the US District Court of the Southern District of Florida, alleging that the Canadian athleisure brand has been defrauding its customers by portraying its goods, operations, and corporate procedures as environmentally friendly and sustainable through its “Be Planet” marketing campaign.
A 53-page lawsuit filed against Lululemon contends that the company’s actual activities and impacts are misrepresented, even though the brand has made statements about sustainability and equity through its “Be Planet” campaign and other initiatives. In contrast to the image it paints, the class-action lawsuit claims that Lululemon, a well-known international retailer of athletic clothing, has a significant and growing impact on the climate and environment.
“Lululemon’s marketing campaign messages are unfair, false, deceptive, and misleading to reasonable consumers as they portray Lululemon as something it is not,” reads the complaint.
The case claims that, in contrast to what the company claims and promotes in its Be Planet campaign, Lululemon’s business practices and goods actually directly hurt the environment and contribute to its continuous degradation.
The class-action lawsuit filed against Lululemon expressly claims that the company is responsible for “significant greenhouse gas emissions, landfill waste, and release of microplastics into the environment,” in addition to other alleged damages. Additionally, the complaint contends that Lululemon intentionally misleads customers about the sustainability and environmental friendliness of its products in order to support and validate the higher prices it charges.
