Comments on: Excuse Me, Lululemon, Your Tag Is Sticking Out. ~via Sarah Miller [corporate yoga, corporate businesses, corrupt spirituality] http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/ daily blog, videos, e-newsletter & magazine on yoga + organics + green living + non-new agey spirituality + ecofashion + conscious consumerism=it's about the mindful life. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:10:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Your worth as a woman depends on people looking at your butt. | elephant journal http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-751471 Your worth as a woman depends on people looking at your butt. | elephant journal Sat, 19 Feb 2011 18:27:03 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-751471 [...] Personally, I like lululemon. This writer on elephant may not love them. Or this one. Or, this one. [...] [...] Personally, I like lululemon. This writer on elephant may not love them. Or this one. Or, this one. [...]

]]> By: Halloween Eve http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-287904 Halloween Eve Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:52:38 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-287904 Seriously lulu, you are charging $100 for sweat pants and you can't even use organic cotton?! Shame on you. Seriously lulu, you are charging $100 for sweat pants and you can’t even use organic cotton?! Shame on you.

]]> By: Realist http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-66134 Realist Fri, 14 May 2010 05:49:30 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-66134 You should research before you state claims. There is no cash exchange from lululemon to high end athletes what so ever. They supply their ambassadors with clothes. This is called marketing. They spend a tiny budget a year on these ambassadors (which doesn't go far as the items are so over priced) and they can choose what they want (to the fixed amount) as long they wear lulu at all times. That means in front of MILLIONS of viewers (for the elite ambassadors) or HUNDREDS of clients/gym members for the ones that spend most of their time teaching. The money they make back from this pittance spent on the ambassadors creates an absolute fortune from the wad of consumers spurred on to buy by the sight of these svelt athletes wearing their exercise gear. It's standard business. Stop pretending they're helping starving children. They are making the rich, richer and the poor, poorer yet again. Same old tycoon hollywood tune, its just this time its giftwrapped with a big Yoga bow on top. You should research before you state claims. There is no cash exchange from lululemon to high end athletes what so ever. They supply their ambassadors with clothes. This is called marketing. They spend a tiny budget a year on these ambassadors (which doesn't go far as the items are so over priced) and they can choose what they want (to the fixed amount) as long they wear lulu at all times. That means in front of MILLIONS of viewers (for the elite ambassadors) or HUNDREDS of clients/gym members for the ones that spend most of their time teaching. The money they make back from this pittance spent on the ambassadors creates an absolute fortune from the wad of consumers spurred on to buy by the sight of these svelt athletes wearing their exercise gear. It's standard business. Stop pretending they're helping starving children. They are making the rich, richer and the poor, poorer yet again. Same old tycoon hollywood tune, its just this time its giftwrapped with a big Yoga bow on top.

]]> By: Yuppie http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-66126 Yuppie Fri, 14 May 2010 05:32:22 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-66126 They aren't 100% organic cotton, so people that are synthetic sensitive still cannot wear them. Another bullshit promise. They aren't 100% organic cotton, so people that are synthetic sensitive still cannot wear them. Another bullshit promise.

]]> By: Honesty http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-66123 Honesty Fri, 14 May 2010 05:30:04 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-66123 They didn't give you those outfits because you wanted a favour or even because you needed to keep warm on a winters night - it's just ADVERTISING! DUH! That's how they get more people to buy their stuff. Put something unattainable on someone you admire (perhaps their strength, their body or their media-image) and people, no matter the circumstance will fight tooth and nail to BUY BUY BUY. I see people put things on credit card after credit card daily using phrases like, "Oooh this cost a month's rent but I just HAVE to have it" or "I can't afford it, but if someone else gets it & I miss out I'll be so upset!". Well done Ashlee, you were a pawn in their scheme to get big. Donations are what you give to the homeless. The starving. The irreversibly ill. Not some colour-coordinated fitness video. That's just called saavy Marketing. And no, in everyday life there is nothing bad about wanting to look good, except that the ENTIRE basis of yoga (which is part of the topic of discussion) is about non attachment to this unattainable and 'perfect' exterior that society and people make us believe we need in order to survive. And before you rebuttle with, "but I dress for myself & don't care what others think", you wouldn't even have an idea of what 'looks good' if you hadn't learned what was/was not acceptable from your peers, your childhood, your family, your idols and your past existence that dictates your identity in the clothing you wear and how society perceives you and then ranks you accordingly. "When we feel good, we feel deserving of well made clothing" you say? How about deserving of the love you receive, of the warmth you have in your home, food on your table and life in your being? How can the two even be compared??? Yoga does not exclude anyone, it's those like lululemon that are bastardising it by making a killing ensuring that some in society's ranks can climb another rung on the social ladder by being part of the $100 pant cool club. High school bullying never stops and it's clique-y ideas like this that excludes people and stops the idea of Yoga (the word itself comes from 'Yoke' meaning UNION!) So to conclude, GREAT you have a yoga qualification (not that they are hard to obtain these days). Perhaps your insecurities about your image will fade if you re-read the Bhagavad Gita or the Vedas (assuming you already have as what should have been an essential part of your study). Yoga is a torch you should be using to proudly light the hope in others, not continue their shame spiral as to why they can't afford/don't look good in certain 'uniforms' as regulated by the popular of the most popular western yoga practitioners. And if your immediate thought is that all that existential spiritual-stuff I've mentioned doesn't matter then you are not a yoga teacher/practitioner. You are a fitness instructor. Western people come to yoga for fitness but they often stay for the will it gives you to reach out to others and be a better person, even in it's most subtlest form, it can be for so many a haven that gives permission for you to give love to yourself (and others) in a world of chaos that is unrelenting. If you can't tell the difference then cease speaking from the knowledgable title of 'Yoga Teacher' as I'm sure many would prefer you not speak for their community from such a superficial standpoint. But don't worry though, we're slowly killing ourselves anyway if not via food and body, but mostly from our poisonous minds. (With mountains of non-biodegrading luon left behind no less.) They didn't give you those outfits because you wanted a favour or even because you needed to keep warm on a winters night – it's just ADVERTISING! DUH! That's how they get more people to buy their stuff. Put something unattainable on someone you admire (perhaps their strength, their body or their media-image) and people, no matter the circumstance will fight tooth and nail to BUY BUY BUY. I see people put things on credit card after credit card daily using phrases like, "Oooh this cost a month's rent but I just HAVE to have it" or "I can't afford it, but if someone else gets it & I miss out I'll be so upset!". Well done Ashlee, you were a pawn in their scheme to get big. Donations are what you give to the homeless. The starving. The irreversibly ill. Not some colour-coordinated fitness video. That's just called saavy Marketing.

And no, in everyday life there is nothing bad about wanting to look good, except that the ENTIRE basis of yoga (which is part of the topic of discussion) is about non attachment to this unattainable and 'perfect' exterior that society and people make us believe we need in order to survive.

And before you rebuttle with, "but I dress for myself & don't care what others think", you wouldn't even have an idea of what 'looks good' if you hadn't learned what was/was not acceptable from your peers, your childhood, your family, your idols and your past existence that dictates your identity in the clothing you wear and how society perceives you and then ranks you accordingly. "When we feel good, we feel deserving of well made clothing" you say? How about deserving of the love you receive, of the warmth you have in your home, food on your table and life in your being? How can the two even be compared???

Yoga does not exclude anyone, it's those like lululemon that are bastardising it by making a killing ensuring that some in society's ranks can climb another rung on the social ladder by being part of the $100 pant cool club. High school bullying never stops and it's clique-y ideas like this that excludes people and stops the idea of Yoga (the word itself comes from 'Yoke' meaning UNION!)

So to conclude, GREAT you have a yoga qualification (not that they are hard to obtain these days). Perhaps your insecurities about your image will fade if you re-read the Bhagavad Gita or the Vedas (assuming you already have as what should have been an essential part of your study). Yoga is a torch you should be using to proudly light the hope in others, not continue their shame spiral as to why they can't afford/don't look good in certain 'uniforms' as regulated by the popular of the most popular western yoga practitioners.

And if your immediate thought is that all that existential spiritual-stuff I've mentioned doesn't matter then you are not a yoga teacher/practitioner. You are a fitness instructor. Western people come to yoga for fitness but they often stay for the will it gives you to reach out to others and be a better person, even in it's most subtlest form, it can be for so many a haven that gives permission for you to give love to yourself (and others) in a world of chaos that is unrelenting.
If you can't tell the difference then cease speaking from the knowledgable title of 'Yoga Teacher' as I'm sure many would prefer you not speak for their community from such a superficial standpoint.

But don't worry though, we're slowly killing ourselves anyway if not via food and body, but mostly from our poisonous minds. (With mountains of non-biodegrading luon left behind no less.)

]]> By: lulu employee http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-66071 lulu employee Fri, 14 May 2010 04:24:39 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-66071 ...and if you believe that in countries with lax levels of regulation regarding labour laws adhere to this whilst you sip on your protein shakes at your boutique gyms in your stretchy pants then you are blinded. What on earth makes you think that just because a company trying to make as much money as possible says "Don't worry, it's all nice working conditions, because that's out intention!" that that is what really happens in these situations?. Did you know there are companies in third world countries that are hired at audit time for factories to forge books & accounts and make places look like they are in tip top "big USA" legal shape every year? It's becoming quite the industry. Go on, keep swallowing what your government and local consumer big wigs tell you. You will clearly benefit from your ignorance (at the fate of the world and everyone else). The best way to combat this 'cheap labour' is if these items were made solely in their own respective countries (Canada, USA & Australia) directly under the eyes/ears/nose of the parent company, rather than outsourcing to communities we consider no better than to sit and sew all day long. The $129 AU price tag would then be justified because of the fair wages paid rather than it costing them $19 to make those groove pants for you with a hefty mark up of $110 profit. Of course they can afford to have free yoga classes! Chip Wilson & Christine Day are laughing all the way to the bank as each of you continue to get progressively sucked in. …and if you believe that in countries with lax levels of regulation regarding labour laws adhere to this whilst you sip on your protein shakes at your boutique gyms in your stretchy pants then you are blinded.
What on earth makes you think that just because a company trying to make as much money as possible says "Don't worry, it's all nice working conditions, because that's out intention!" that that is what really happens in these situations?. Did you know there are companies in third world countries that are hired at audit time for factories to forge books & accounts and make places look like they are in tip top "big USA" legal shape every year? It's becoming quite the industry.
Go on, keep swallowing what your government and local consumer big wigs tell you. You will clearly benefit from your ignorance (at the fate of the world and everyone else).
The best way to combat this 'cheap labour' is if these items were made solely in their own respective countries (Canada, USA & Australia) directly under the eyes/ears/nose of the parent company, rather than outsourcing to communities we consider no better than to sit and sew all day long.
The $129 AU price tag would then be justified because of the fair wages paid rather than it costing them $19 to make those groove pants for you with a hefty mark up of $110 profit. Of course they can afford to have free yoga classes! Chip Wilson & Christine Day are laughing all the way to the bank as each of you continue to get progressively sucked in.

]]> By: Flabbergasted http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-66000 Flabbergasted Fri, 14 May 2010 02:25:10 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-66000 The world will consume itself because of people like you who don't give a damn. Yes that's right. Laugh about how petty all this is now and after you've eaten all the cows, chickens and "lesser" animals, drank all the water in the oceans, bulldozed all the trees that give you oxygen and then consider that "if you don't like it, don't take part in it - it's not my problem" attitude, you will be there with your lululemon pants praying to a god you never bothered believing in to save you from your selfish existence. Your ignorance to this small issue only only exacerbates larger problems. Today it's clothes, but an attitude like yours? That lasts a lifetime. And what a sorry future we all have coming. The world will consume itself because of people like you who don't give a damn. Yes that's right. Laugh about how petty all this is now and after you've eaten all the cows, chickens and "lesser" animals, drank all the water in the oceans, bulldozed all the trees that give you oxygen and then consider that "if you don't like it, don't take part in it – it's not my problem" attitude, you will be there with your lululemon pants praying to a god you never bothered believing in to save you from your selfish existence. Your ignorance to this small issue only only exacerbates larger problems. Today it's clothes, but an attitude like yours? That lasts a lifetime. And what a sorry future we all have coming.

]]> By: Erin Marie http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-57886 Erin Marie Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:47:23 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-57886 ...I have many many pairs of pants and tops made out of organic cotton from lulu - wearing a organic cotton tank right now infact. …I have many many pairs of pants and tops made out of organic cotton from lulu – wearing a organic cotton tank right now infact.

]]> By: David http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-24363 David Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:32:13 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-24363 Guys - its just a clothing store. If you don't like it - don't shop it. Clothing stores have marketing - if you don't like it - don't read it. I just bought 2 pair of pants from lulu and they fit great and feel great. I treated myself and was so happy to have done it! I want to wear them every day. Where they produce their clothing does not concern me - if it concerns you - don't buy it. If you want to judge me for wearing it - please do so. Then go to class or meditate or something so you feel better. I feel great in these lovely pants! Guys – its just a clothing store. If you don't like it – don't shop it.
Clothing stores have marketing – if you don't like it – don't read it.
I just bought 2 pair of pants from lulu and they fit great and feel great. I treated myself and was so happy to have done it! I want to wear them every day.
Where they produce their clothing does not concern me – if it concerns you – don't buy it. If you want to judge me for wearing it – please do so. Then go to class or meditate or something so you feel better. I feel great in these lovely pants!

]]> By: lululover http://www.elephantjournal.com/2008/12/excuse-me-lululemon-your-tag-is-sticking-out-by-sarah-miller-corporate-yoga-corporate-businesses-corrupt-spirituality/comment-page-1/#comment-21899 lululover Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:34:31 +0000 http://www.elephantjournal.com/?p=4539#comment-21899 So I agree that 100$ for a pair of pants sounds completely outrageous but if you think about how long the product will last.. a good 5 years at least thats really just 20$ a year which is nothing for such great pants. Its nice to reward yourself with something nice once and awhile you dont have to go and buy lots. FYI lululemon isint all about just yoga either they help several other sports out and provide financial to those high end athletes that need it. Seems to me like you are just bitter and needed to post it on the internet so everyone could see. So I agree that 100$ for a pair of pants sounds completely outrageous but if you think about how long the product will last.. a good 5 years at least thats really just 20$ a year which is nothing for such great pants. Its nice to reward yourself with something nice once and awhile you dont have to go and buy lots. FYI lululemon isint all about just yoga either they help several other sports out and provide financial to those high end athletes that need it. Seems to me like you are just bitter and needed to post it on the internet so everyone could see.

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