Lululemon: A Story of Yoga, Sweat and Sustainability

When we think of Lululemon, the first thing that comes to our minds is a healthy, funny and happy lifestyle. And yoga, of course.

Their motto is ‘Breathe easy, it’s on us’ and they were born from the desire to innovate technical athletic gear and the appetite to build a community where everyone can live their best life.

Founded in Vancouver, Canada, in 1998, Lululemon is a yoga-inspired, technical athletic apparel company for women and men. Everything started as a design studio by day and yoga studio by night, and it soon became a standalone store in November of 2000.

Their vision was to create more than a place where people could get gear to sweat in. They actually wanted to create a community hub where people could learn and discuss the physical aspects of healthy living, mindfulness and living a life of possibility.

Another important aspect for them was to create real relationships with their guests, understand what they were passionate about and help them celebrate their goals. Today, they do this in their stores across the globe, from Canada to China, from Europe to Australia.

Lululemon’s first designs were made for women to wear during yoga. Through feedbacks from their guests, ambassadors and elite athletes, they now design for yoga, running, cycling, training and most other sweaty pursuits for women and men.

Their core values are: quality, product, integrity, balance, entrepreneurship, greatness and fun. These values are lived by their people every day and are at the heart of their unique company culture.

In line with the company’s vision is its approach towards sustainability. Lululemon is a company which tries to reduce its footprint across their business, while creating a positive, lasting impact on the world. They embrace social, environmental, and economic health in every part of their organization and global communities.

They want to be a model for community-led sustainability by inspiring and engaging leaders to imagine and achieve the possible and impossible. And in its continuous strive for sustainability, Lululemon’s packaging reflects the company’s attitude towards the environment.

Their commitment to sustainability made them choose reusable bags, therefore combining beautiful packaging with environmental advantages, creating win-win situations for everyone.This is definitely a great example of how being environmentally friendly can go hand in hand with having a successful business.

Billions of plastic bags end up in our landfills after being used a single time, and there it will take several hundred years for them to decompose. By choosing a reusable bag, this number can be reduced and you can help protect the environment. Reusable bags have a far longer life cycle and they can assist in the reduction of companies’ carbon footprint.

Lululemon’s reusable bags are characterized by its iconic red and white logo combined with their world famous manifesto, which is their way to share their culture with the community. It’s basically an evolving collection of thoughts that aims at developing real conversations.

The bags - which they call ‘shoppers’ - have become synonymous with Lululemon, and they come in a variety of sizes, formats and colours (including black & white), even though the red version is the one they’re best known for.

Formats include shopping bags, gym bags, and reusable lunch bags and they have become so popular that have even developed a resale market all of their own (you can even purchase them on Ebay or Amazon!)

Reusable bags help businesses stay competitive and connect with consumers, allowing them to reduce expenses and show customers they care, as well as help the environment.

Custom reusable bags have so much to offer and they make it easy to promote brands in an eco-friendly and budget-friendly way, while also increasing brand’s awareness and recognition.

And Lululemon is doing it the right way.

Images courtesy of www.lululemon.com.

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