Activists launch fake Lululemon brand to shame it into cutting emissions faster

A fake pop-up store selling shameless copies of Lululemon products has appeared in London, reports Fast Company.

The stunt is the work of climate advocacy group Action Speaks Louder, which created a spoof brand called Mumumelon with the tagline: "Same soulless vibes. Fewer fossil fuels."

"We've been campaigning on Lululemon for a few years now to push them to invest in the renewable energy transition and phase out fossil fuels from their supply chain," Ruth MacGilp, a climate campaigner at the group, told the magazine. "We wanted to do something a bit more creative."

Lululemon said it was "disappointed" with the approach.

The core problem, MacGilp told Fast Company, isn't just electricity – it's heat. Most emissions come from coal-fired boilers at factories.

"The alternative to fossil fuels for heat is using electricity, but what has to happen first is those processes have to be electrified through technologies like heat pumps and electric boilers," she said. "It's commercially available technology, but it hasn't yet scaled."

With $11bn in annual sales, Action Speaks Louder argues the brand has the resources to move faster. As of its 2024 reporting, Lululemon was not on track to hit its own target of 25% renewable electricity for fiscal year 2025.

The campaign enlisted yoga influencers to call the brand out on social media. "We hope that helps put it higher up the priority list," MacGilp told the publication.

Satirist Oli Frost, who led the project at creative agency Serious People, told the magazine the biggest surprise was how many visitors wanted to buy the clothes.

"They were a little bit disappointed when I said they couldn't buy anything," he said. "But obviously, for legal reasons, we were advised not to place the clothing on sale."

Lululemon says it is "continuing to make meaningful progress," pointing to a 60% reduction in emissions at its own facilities.