Lululemon is accused by environmental group of using “misleading” sustainability claims despite growing emissions Team Canada athletes pose for a photo at the reveal of Lululemon's uniforms for the Paris 2024 Olympics, in April 16, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio Sports clothing firm Lululemon – the official supplier of kit to Canada’s Olympics team – is portraying itself as a sustainable brand despite its rising greenhouse gas emissions and “highly-polluting” activities, according to a complaint filed to the French authorities on Wednesday. Environmental advocacy group Stand.earth accused the Vancouver-based apparel company of greenwashing in a “first-of-its-kind complaint” submitted to the French Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) days before the Olympics Games opening ceremony in Paris. Stand.earth has called on the French regulator to investigate Lululemon’s “vague, disproportionate and ambiguous” environmental claims which, the green group said, constitute misleading commercial practices. In response, the company told Climate Home its publicity does not misrepresent its operations. Through its “Be Planet” campaign unveiled in 2020, Lululemon tells customers that its “products and actions avoid environmental harm and contribute to restoring a healthy planet”. A screengrab from Lululemon’s sustainability webpage But the company’s latest impact report shows that emissions from Lululemon’s full supply chain – known as Scope 3 – nearly doubled to 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide between the campaign’s launch and 2022. That’s equivalent to powering 300,000 gasoline cars for a year. Stand.earth’s complaint said Lululemon’s emissions are set to grow even further as it tries to hit a goal of doubling sales by 2026. “Lululemon customers worldwide deserve to know the true impacts of the... |