‘Be Planet’ or not?: Lululemon accused of greenwashing in class action

Lululemon is facing a class action lawsuit alleging the retailer misleads consumers in its sustainability campaign.

The lawsuit, filed in a district court in Florida last week, claims that the brand’s ‘Be Planet’ campaign tricks consumers into thinking that it is contributing to a better planet. 

In fact, the company is “causing significant damage to the environment, which is only on track to get worse,” the plaintiffs add.

According to the 53-page complaint, Lululemon launched the campaign in 2020, highlighting five goals to reduce the company’s environmental impact over the next five-to-10 years.

However, the firm’s greenhouse gas emissions have more than doubled since then, the lawsuit alleges, adding that the company relies significantly more on air freight than its competitors.

The complaint also mentions the brand’s use of polyester and nylon in more than 60 per cent of its material mix, which can release large amounts of microplastics. 

“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 lawsuit. 

Although the company is taking some sustainable measures, those benefits are minor in comparison to the greater harm the company is causing, the plaintiffs add.

The class action came after Canada’s Competition Bureau opened a formal investigation into Lululemon’s environmental claims in May based on a complaint by stand.earth. 

If the bureau finds that the retailer committed greenwashing practices, the penalty could reach up to 3 per cent of the company’s gross global profits for each year it ran the ads, according to law firm Kelley Drye & Warren.

Lululemon last month reported a 10 per cent growth in net revenue to US$2.2 billion for the first quarter. The company expects its full-year revenue to be between $10.7 billion and $10.8 billion, representing a growth of 11 per cent to 12 per cent. 

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