Lululemon

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Lululemon Athletica logo

Lululemon is an athletic apparel retailer domiciled in Delaware and headquartered in Vancouver. Founded in 1998 as a retailer of yoga pants and other yoga wear, Lululemon has since expanded to sell its products internationally in 460 stores as well as online. The company has expanded to sell a variety of athletic wear, including performance shirts, shorts, and pants, as well as lifestyle apparel and yoga accessories.[1]

Lululemon was founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson in Vancouver, British Columbia, with its first standalone store opening in November 2000. , Wilson created the name to have many L's so that it would sound western to Japanese buyers, who often have difficulty pronouncing the letter.[2]

Support to Black community

Lululemon Instagram Post

Lululemon originally announced a $100,000 donation to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, but due to an abundance of donations, "we have been asked to channel our resources into other foundations standing for change. We contributed a total of $250,000 to local Minneapolis organizations Rebuild Lake Street and Friends of Hennepin County Library (East Lake Library), as well as national organizations NAACP, Black Lives Matter and Reclaim the Block." [3]

“We haven’t always got it right,” Lululemon shared online. “Over the years it made us question if we had a right to speak up. And we are privileged to have a voice and a platform. Know we are not indifferent. Far from it. We are passionate about every single human being valued.”

Lululemon explained that words are powerful but “they are not enough”. Encouraging people to take action, Lululemon shared a list of actions that can be taken to continue the important conversation of inequality.

From investing in education and changing behaviours to embodying a diverse representation, the Canadian-founded company announced it will “no longer rely on people of colour to educate us on what to do; we will educate ourselves”.[4]

Commitment to anti-racism

Lululemon's CEO Calvin McDonald with Senior Leadership Team, has made the following commitments to stand up and fund Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action within our organization. This ensures they stay engaged and act in allyship in their commitment to anti-racism.

Increase funding, accelerate actions, and create accountability for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action

  • Recruit a Head of Global Diversity Equity and Inclusion to ensure Lululemon deliver on their commitments.
  • Expand and resource theirglobal Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action team, internally investing an additional USD $5 million a year in funding to build consistent momentum.

Create an ongoing dialogue between underrepresented members of the collective with Calvin McDonald and Senior Leadership Team

  • Establish voluntary employee-led resource groups (pacer groups) that will set the pace of progress, starting with immediately formalizing the group of Black employees who have come together. This will act as their first pacer group; however, more groups of their underrepresented employees will be formed—in addition to the ongoing diversity and inclusion sessions offered.
  • Create a global advisory committee comprised of lululemon ambassadors who bring diverse knowledge and skills to inform Lululemon actions and collectively drive meaningful change around the world.

Expand our training, learning, and development to support Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity

  • Deliver anti-racism and anti-discrimination training for all employees by September 2020
  • Deliver Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity curriculum to all people leaders through our Leader Series and Retail Training Programs starting in October 2020, with senior leadership education kicking off in July 2020

Increase diverse representation among our employees and our collective

  • By the end of 2020, through a voluntary survey, Lululemon share employee demographic data through an annual Impact Report which will communicate our commitment and progress towards creating positive change for a better world.
  • Accelerate the equitable development of employees by January 2021 through a new career development program that supports increasing diversity across organization, including leadership team.
  • Attract diverse talent from outside the organization by June 2021 through a global internship program in partnership with educational institutions that serve underrepresented communities.
  • Require diverse pools of candidates be interviewed for each role within lululemon starting in August 2020, through a refreshed hiring process that enforces inclusive practices and aims to eliminate bias.

Use Lululemon's brand and voice to advocate for change

  • Provide an additional USD $3 million to their social impact program, Here to Be, for a total of USD $7 million in 2020, to disrupt inequity in wellbeing through movement, mindfulness, and activism. The additional funding will go toward organizations focusing on civil rights and social justice for people experiencing systemic inequity due to identity and ability.
  • Leverage Lululemon's platform to communicate with community, amplifying diverse voices and galvanizing the community to act.[5]

Here to Be

Here to Be is lululemon's social impact program. With their partners, they disrupt inequity in wellbeing through movement, mindfulness, and advocacy. Here to Be exists to help ensure that movement and mindfulness practices are accessible, and to advocate for systemic change so that everyone can be well.

Lululemon partner with organizations that embrace the healing power of movement and mindfulness, and that advocate for civil and human rights. We provide support that includes:

  • Funding – application-driven grants, by-invitation grants, and product donations  
  • Connection – shared resources, learning, and community-building 
  • Amplification – internal and external storytelling across our platforms

Lululemon also work with global, national and local organizations that support communities including:

  • People experiencing systems of inequity due to racial/ethnic identity, LGBTQ+, and disability
  • Youth, including changemakers and emerging leaders
  • Humanitarian and disaster relief workers[6]

References

  1. Lululemon Athletica. Wikipedia. Retrieved Feb 1, 2021.
  2. Edwards, Jim. The long, strange history of lululemon: North America's weirdest clothing brand. Sep 4, 2015. businessinsider.com. Retrieved Feb 1, 2021.
  3. Livingston, Mercey. These are the major brands donating to the Black Lives Matter movement. June 16, 2020. cnet.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  4. Kering and Microsoft among brands showing support for Black Lives Matter. June 5, 2020. theceomagazine.com. Retrieved Feb 1, 2021.
  5. We're committed to making real, lasting change. Lululemon. Retrieved Feb 6, 2021.
  6. Here to be. Lululemon. Retrieved Feb 6, 2021.