It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

Athleisure

Footwear Innovation / Industry Scan

23 January 2024

4 minutes

Footwear is particularly problematic. Unlike a basic T-shirt, which might consist of a single material such as 100 percent polyester, a sneaker or running shoe can be made of as many as 65 materials and components.

Sneakers and Sportswear Still Dragging Their Feet on Sustainability

Sportswear, athleisure and sneakers are big business. But they depend on fossil fuel-based materials, and recycling them is particularly tricky.

Alexandra Sherlock
Rebecca Van Amber

Analysis

Consumer Trends / Shopping

31 July 2023

2 minutes

Activewear retailers deliberately use body-focused marketing to promote their products, which tend to be tight, form-fitting or revealing. This type of imagery can be very threatening to women’s body image because it promotes an idealised and difficult to attain physique.

Activewear Angst: Shopping for Workout Clothes Make Women Feel Worse About Looks

Studies by the Edith Cowan University (ECU) have found that the use of fit and toned models in tight-fitting clothing used by activewear websites make women feel worse about their looks and they experience lower self-esteem after browsing an activewear website, leading to negative body image.

Staff Writer

Climate Crisis / LuluCoal

19 September 2022

4 minutes

Lululemon’s factories are almost entirely reliant on coal (and other fossil fuels). Every year the company grows without cleaning up its supply chain, it just continues to lock in more fossil fuels in the places where its factories are, like Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh—countries which are bearing the brunt of climate impacts.

Lululemon's Sustainability Report Fails to Hide It Increased Climate Pollution by 60%: Stand.earth

Athleisure major Lululemon’s second Impact Report has inadvertently revealed that the Canadian athleisure giant has increased climate pollution from manufacturing its products by a shocking 60% in just 12 months. This was followed by the company's founder donating CAN$ 100 million to a conservation non-profit.