Global sports fashion powerhouse Lululemon – the official apparel provider for Canadian team at the Summer Olympics – has been accused of greenwashing in a groundbreaking legal complaint filed in France by environmental advocacy group Stand.earth. 

A complaint calling for the cessation of Lululemon’s Be Planet advertising campaign was submitted to the French government’s Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control last Wednesday (24 July), two days before the opening of the games on Friday.

Canada’s athletes wore their Lululemon-designed uniforms at the opening ceremony, drawing significant international attention as the teams processed down the River Seine by barge in a spectacular, if somewhat rainswept, ceremony attended by French president Emmanuel Macron, fellow heads of state and Olympic dignitaries.  

Stand.earth is being supported on a pro bono basis by London-based Hausfeld partner Simon Bishop. The group accuses Lululemon of misleading consumers about its environmental practices. 

Executive director Todd Paglia said: “Lululemon customers worldwide deserve to know the true impacts of the company’s climate pollution, not the greenwashed version it uses to sell products.”

According to Stand.earth, Lululemon’s ‘Be Planet’ campaign gives the impression that the company’s operations and products are environmentally friendly and contribute to restoring a healthy planet. It argues that these claims are misleading and violate French consumer protection laws, specifically under statutes amended by anti-waste and climate and resilience laws.

Lululemon defended its environmental initiatives, emphasising its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and enhancing sustainability in its operations. It stated: “We are dedicated to transparency and continual improvement in our sustainability practices and will cooperate fully with any inquiries from regulatory bodies.”

The legal action marks a significant test of France’s regulatory framework, particularly in light of new European legislation combating greenwashing. Recent EU directives, along with the developing Green Claims Directive, require sustainability claims to be independently verified and introduce stringent rules for environmental labelling schemes.

Hausfeld’s Bishop said: “We are seeing increasing interest in combatting greenwashing from NGOs and other stakeholders, such as investors, consumers and regulators. Demand for sustainable products and businesses that align with stakeholders’ values continues to rise, and this can incentivise companies to claim to be ‘greener’ than they actually are. If this happens, such companies should be alert to the risk of litigation or regulatory investigations.”

The complaint in France follows a similar action taken by Stand.earth against Lululemon in Canada, prompting Canada’s Competition Bureau to initiate an investigation into its environmental claims in May.

Recent years have seen a marked increase in the sponsorship of sporting events by luxury and fashion brands with Olympic Games Paris 2024 sponsor French fashion house LVMH having reportedly committed $165m.

At the same time, sustainability has become an issue of crucial importance to the luxury sector as highlighted by Belmond general counsel Abbi Hunt in an interview with GLP ahead of chairing Luxury Law Summit London, which took place in June and is hosted by this title.

“Our guests and customers rightly require transparency about the standards we hold ourselves and our supply chains to,” she said. “Doing the right thing isn’t just morally imperative; it’s become a competitive necessity.”