Lululemon is an athletics brand launched in 1998. The brand is famous for yoga pants, sportswear, and sports accessories. Lululemon has more than 500 outlets worldwide.
Lululemon is bound to deliver hundreds of thousands of products to its consumers worldwide, and the quality of each product needs to be uniform everywhere in the world.
Manufacture of the same quality products in such a large number is only possible with mass production.
Therefore there are high chances of Lululemon being involved in mass production. If engaged in mass production, it is undoubtedly a fast-fashion brand.
Is Lululemon responsible for Mass production?
Mostly yes, brands like Lululemon have millions of customers worldwide, and the demand for products is always high.
However, to meet that high demand, products are manufactured in massive quantities, and the production of products in huge numbers is termed mass production.
Since the industrial revolution, it has become easy to manufacture the products in an extensive quantity which is valuable and time-saving, but the multinational brands have exploited this opportunity.
Multinational brands, including Lululemon, create pseudo hype for their products with direct and indirect marketing, increasing the demand for their products.
Once the demand is high, products are manufactured in vast quantities to meet that demand and sold worldwide at very high prices.
With Mass production, brands tend to earn maximum profits, yet this practice is utterly dangerous for the environment and natural habitats living in the background.
Where do Lululemon products manufacture?
All the international brands prefer to have products manufactured in the developing countries, mainly in Africa and Asia.
A multinational brand always seeks maximum profit with minimum investment. They start their factories in developing countries because the labor in developing countries is very cheap.
The total production cost, including the expenses of raw materials, costs these brands nothing much, whereas the profits earned have a very high margin.
Lululemon being a multinational brand, prefers to earn high profits. It has manufacturing plants, primarily in Asian countries like China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Srilanka, etc.
However, all the products of Lululemon are manufactured in these developing countries and, from there, brought into Lululemon outlets worldwide and sold to consumers.
Why Is Lululemon not Sustainable?
It is no longer a hidden fact that big brands and corporations exploit both environment and people for their benefit.
The point of concern is that this exploitation has put our environment and the lives of the coming generations at stake because the means of production used by these brands aren’t sustainable.
Lululemon runs hundreds of factories worldwide for the manufacture of products. The fuel used to run machines and waste products is heavily responsible for environmental pollution.
Environmental pollution means the pollution of air, water, and land altogether; this causes unsustainability and imbalance in global resources.
Plants, animals, aquatic animals, and even humans are affected by the pollution caused by brands like Lululemon.
A brand involved in the destruction of the environment directly or indirectly is neither sustainable nor prefers sustainability.
Unfortunately, Lululemon is one of such brands responsible for environmental pollution. That’s why it’s not a sustainable brand like most international brands.
Is Lululemon ethical?
It is pretty naive to ask if the brand is ethical. Lululemon sells millions of products annually in its 500+ global stores. How can the brand achieve these landmarks just by playing safe?
The brand has been involved in unethical practices like using synthetic materials for product manufacture and mass production.
Carbon dioxide is a poisonous gas, constantly being emitted into the atmosphere due to manufacturing plants of clothing brands emitting carbon dioxide as a by-product.
Lululemon is also doing the same; how can it be ethical?
What materials are used in the manufacture of clothes and garments?
The common materials used to manufacture clothes and other garments are Synthetic fabrics like Polyester, Nylon, acrylic, polypropylene, etc.
All of the synthetic fabrics are obtained from fossils like crude oil. Besides Synthetic Fabrics, cotton, silk, leather, and Bast fibers are also used to manufacture clothes.
Before the Industrial Revolution, only cotton thread and wool were the sources to manufacture clothes in the olden days.
However, synthetic fabrics are a vital contribution to environmental pollution, causing the emission of dozens of toxic gases and carbon dioxide.
What are the consequences of Fast Fashion?
Fast Fashion will bring destruction and nothing else. The rate at which the clothing industry pollutes the environment is very alarming.
The clothing industry emits 8% to 10% of carbon dioxide. Not only carbon dioxide but other toxic gases are also emitted.
Textile dyes are responsible for water pollution, while pesticides used in cotton cultivation are responsible for affecting soil fertility.
According to the reports presented by the United Nations clothing industry is responsible for 20% of water pollution worldwide.
Fast Fashion may seem progressive, but it is destructive and nothing else, and the consequences of this Fashion have already cost us precious lives and will keep affecting our environment.
What are better alternatives to Lululemon?
The Canadian brand, Lululemon, has not met ethical expectations like most international brands.
However, some brands play safe and remain ethical without causing much damage to the environment.
Here we list a few brands that don’t fall into the fast fashion category and are ethical.