Lululemon clothes fights the effects of jetlag

I'm at the lounge at YVR right now, surfing around for news. I've got a quick trip to Asia and back within this week. My title if you're confused is in jest/reference to last weeks big ruckus with Lululemon.

I didn't realize that Lululemon was having all these problems with some claims about their clothing. The story caught my attention as I have a friend who has been a long time manufacturer of theirs. Tru Drama and Kris + Cris also shares space in Oakridge Mall with a Lululemon and I've enjoyed some of their active wear in the past. It's a bit too casual for me these days though. I don't feel right without a huge tattoo tiger on my sweatpants.

The big deal was sparked by an article in the New York Times. The paper disputes their claims of therapeutic or performance benefits from its seaweed-infused line of clothing. Tests conducted for the paper showed that the material was no different than common cotton. So their stock prices dived and had the Canada's Competition Bureau asked them to remove any claims from their tags and advertisements. Lululemon did their own tests but I couldn't tell from another article if their tests were conclusive. They said their tests showed evidence of seaweed but yet they still pulled all their product from their stores.

I can't really see how seaweed unless it's wet would provide any benefit to your body. If it was wet would you really want to wear it? If it was infused in the material... well that sounds interesting and it would be nice to think it does something for you. I'd also believe that after a few washes just how effective could it really be? It's not really a feature that would lock me into purchasing it. For me all this stuff isn't a big deal.

I do find it weird (even stupid) that a big paper like the New York Times would investigate Lululemon. Which for the most part is still a Canadian chain of yoga stores. Is it because the claims are so outrageous? It didn't seem like such a big deal when I saw some of those claims myself a few weeks back. I just thought it was neat and didn't give it a second thought.