Advisory: Activists to protest Lululemon’s first-ever running shoe debut over climate change concerns

WHO: Area climate activists and associates of local climate advocacy corporation Stand.earth. 

For more than a yr, Stand.earth has termed on Lululemon — a person of the major, most lucrative, and fastest increasing sportswear manufacturers in the globe — to do better on local weather transform. In February 2022, Stand.earth criticized the company’s Crew Canada Olympics equipment for contributing to local climate transform and threatening the quite future of winter sports (See images). In November 2021, Stand.earth released an evaluation revealing that despite Luluemon’s participation in style business local climate initiatives, the company’s offer chain emissions basically improved in 2020.

WHAT: Protest versus Lululemon’s new line of jogging shoes, Blissfeel, in excess of fears about the company’s contribution to weather transform. Most nations where by Lululemon’s factories are located rely closely on a coal-powered electrical power grid, which not only triggers extreme air air pollution that harms the health of people residing nearby, but also contributes to world-wide greenhouse gasoline emissions that worsen the effects of local climate adjust. Stand.earth’s analysis finds that Lululemon’s Blissfeel women’s managing sneakers are made in factories in China where 66{a0ae49ae04129c4068d784f4a35ae39a7b56de88307d03cceed9a41caec42547} of the energy made use of for producing comes from coal, and only 9{a0ae49ae04129c4068d784f4a35ae39a7b56de88307d03cceed9a41caec42547} comes from renewable vitality.

Activists will host a jogging workshop on Lululemon’s weather failures. Individuals will do team stretching workout routines, trace human footprints on the sidewalk, and distribute bogus coal in entrance of the keep. There will be banners looking through “Feel Bliss?” with an impression of coal pouring out of the shoes, and one of Lululemon’s Blissfeel sneakers crammed with “coal” positioned atop a white pedestal.

SPOKESPEOPLE: Local activist Barbara Shuman, a retired UBC English professor, and Stand.earth spokesperson Erdene Batzorig will be out there on web page for interviews. (Browse extra about Batzorig’s firsthand working experience developing up with coal pollution in this Georgia Straight op-ed.) Stand.earth Fossil Free of charge Manner marketing campaign direct Muhannad Malas will also be out there for interviews by cellphone.

WHEN: Saturday, March 26, 1-2 p.m. PT

Exactly where: Lululemon’s retailer in the Kitsilano neighborhood, 2101 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, B.C.

Shots & Movie: Pics and video will be readily available afterwards in the working day at https://push.google.com/generate/folders/1uRwBVVIoYuAXjsY2em2PyvUTFyYGgVXO?usp=sharing 

WHY: In the coming many years, the multi-trillion greenback style industry’s greenhouse gas emissions are envisioned to raise greatly, surpassing other polluting industries these kinds of as aviation and shipping. Regardless of portray itself as a “healthy lifestyle” brand and sustainability chief, Lululemon has however to commit to eradicating coal from its provide chains, and has completed incredibly little to advocate for the changeover from coal to renewable electrical power in the nations around the world in which its factories are situated — including Vietnam, Cambodia, and China. Lululemon is notably lacking from joint attempts signed by other style brand names, which include competitor Nike, to motivate fashion-manufacturing countries to enhance renewable electrical power. 

Stand.earth’s Fossil-Free Trend Scorecard released in August 2021 benchmarked 47 top rated vogue firms on their attempts to tackle local weather change. The report broadly unsuccessful the style field on its endeavours to handle local weather transform, and gave Lululemon a D- for failing to acquire significant action to perform with suppliers to boost renewable strength use in its supply chain, period out coal utilization, or advocate for or sourcing renewable electrical power for its factories. 

Learn a lot more about Stand.earth’s Fossil No cost Manner Campaign at lulucoal.com.