Lululemon exec blamed customers for see-through leggings — then quietly pulled the product
‘To experience this tights' best performance, we recommend sizing up,’ and ‘Pair with skin tone, seamless underwear.’
The primary purpose of customer feedback is to ensure that companies maintain a strong brand image and reputation through customer satisfaction. Recently, there has been a lot of controversy about Lululemon’s “Get Low” Training tights after customers claimed they were “see-through,” reported KTLA 5. Instead of adjusting the product or making amends, the company instead had an unexpected response, blaming customers for not wearing the leggings the right way, according to FOX Business. Obviously, the internet didn’t sit still and ensured the makers took responsibility for their mistake, eventually prompting them to halt sales of the product online.
The leggings were initially designed with the idea of being lightweight, quick-drying, and ideal for workouts and training. However, customers complained that when they squatted or bent low, the material was completely see-through. A post from a shopper, u/mumblejumble, read, “For those who missed it, they took it off the website last week, likely due to a lot of complaints about the leggings not being squat-proof. I tried them on in my usual size, and they were, indeed, see-through when I bent over.” But Lululemon thought it’s probably not their fault and instead suggested buyers are not wearing the product the right way.
They also went as far as to body-shame the customers and said that they probably needed a bigger size. The woman added, “They suggest wearing skin tone underwear and sizing up. Under the fit and sizing guidance section — ‘To experience this tights best performance, we recommend sizing up,’ and ‘Pair with skin tone, seamless underwear.’” But shoppers didn’t sit quietly. They went and got that bigger size, and as expected, it was still see-through. Shoppers were now frustrated, not just because the product was faulty but also because the company openly shamed them under the presumption that they were buying a size smaller than required. The complaints kept rising until eventually, the website halted the sale of the product.
A company spokesperson revealed that the collection is still being sold at select stores, but they have taken the product from their website. “We have temporarily paused sales online in the market to better understand some initial guest feedback and support with product education.” According to the news report, Lululemon has been witnessing reduced shares since 2023 and has been receiving backlash on its products, mainly leggings, for similar reasons in the past. In 2013, black yoga pants were recalled for being see-through. In 2024, the “Breezethrough” pants were also discontinued due to negative reviews.
A study published by Research Gate revealed that customer satisfaction greatly determines success for a company. Because consumers have control over demand and thereby supply, the study noted that “it is easy to see why customer satisfaction should be the foundation of all other business performance measures.” Other factors like customer-organization relationship, loyalty, prospects, and more are attained from some contribution to customer satisfaction, which greatly stems from feedback. In a post on LinkedIn, founder Chip Wilson expressed dissatisfaction about the collection, reported BIV. He wrote, “Pulling back the ‘Get Low’ product line after three days is clearly a total operational failure.” It was also added that the preceding failures of other collections hint at a bigger problem than just design flaws.
“It is clear that persistent failures like this are born out of this Board’s lack of experience in creative businesses, disinterest in product development and quality, and focus on short-term, self-interested priorities,” he added. We don’t know what the internal problems are, but responding by critiquing customers was not the best move. A Lulu addict, u/WONTREMEMBERTHISID wrote, “Sizing up is ridiculous. They already fit really loose and look like wrinkly sh*t in your normal size. They should just send them to the outlets and write it off.” u/Niechy added, “Imagine selling something full price that’s clearly defective and trying to gaslight your client base by telling them to wear seamless skin-toned underwear.”
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