Lululemon founder Chip Wilson has responded to the latest round of complaints over the company’s popular yoga pants by blaming customers’ body shapes.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Wilson said recently-reported problems with pilling are nothing new, and suggested they’re not necessarily a quality issue, either.
“There has always been pilling. The thing is that women will wear seatbelts that don’t work or they’ll wear a purse that doesn’t work or, quite frankly, some women’s bodies just don’t work for it,” Wilson said.
“It’s really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much pressure is there, I mean over a period of time, and how much they use it.”
Asked by Bloomberg host Trish Regan whether some women just aren’t built to wear Lululemon yoga pants, Wilson said, “I think they can. I just think it’s how you use them.”
When sheerness problems led Lululemon to recall 17 per cent of its yoga pants in March, the company still blamed customers for buying sizes that were too small for their bodies.
New complaints started showing up on the Canadian company’s Facebook page in October, despite Lululemon’s promise to change production in light of the recall.
Some claimed their yoga pants began pilling after a few months, or even a few uses.
“I bought these pants on September 25, two weeks ago. Have worn them once for yoga, once for walking, and once for weights/cardio. Have washed them once hung to dry. They are already showing pilling in the thigh area,” one customer wrote.
Others complained about holes forming shortly after purchase and that, despite the promised modifications, the yoga pants were still too see-through.
Lululemon Athletica sold $1.4 billion in merchandise in 2012.
With files from The Canadian Press
