Lululemon To Invest $75M In Community Wellness Programs

For the first time, Vancouver, B.C.’s Lululemon Athletica Inc. has released an impact agenda, which includes the clothing company’s “long-term strategy to become a more sustainable and equitable business, minimize its environmental impact and accelerate positive change, both internally and externally.”

The company’s CEO Calvin McDonald told Fortune magazine that this agenda had been in the works since before he took the reins two years ago. He noted that Lululemon has already begun to expand the sizes of the products it sells and has set a goal for its merchandise to be made primarily from sustainable materials.

“This is part of our culture,” McDonald told Fortune. “The value to the organization in doing this is it reinforces who we are, how we want to show up.”

Fortune reported that this year, Lululemon has already introduced sizes between 0 and 20 for its six most popular women’s items. In addition, the athletic wear company is now also offering size 14 bras and a 46-inch waist size for one of its popular men’s pants. In 2013, Lululemon’s founder and former CEO notoriously said that its products were not meant for larger women.

In the report, McDonald said the new agenda is part of the company’s growth strategy. Lululemon now has 19,000 employees and 506 stores.

According to Lululemon’s press release, its agenda “outlines its multi-year strategies to address critical social and environmental issues with 12 goals to drive progress.” These strategies include:

• Providing “access to tools that embrace mindfulness and movement practices for more than 10 million people globally by 2025.”
• Investing $75 million “in its global and local communities by 2025 to drive impact through direct funding, partnerships and advocacy.”
• Delivering on the promise to have all its products “include sustainable materials and end-of-use solutions by 2030.”

In September, McDonald said that Lululemon plans to build more brick-and-mortar stores. He said the company has made all of its rent payments throughout the pandemic, unlike brands like Gap Inc. that suspended some payments.