With comfort and style at the forefront of trends right now, it’s no wonder that athleisure is on such an upswing. And when it comes to athleisure, Lululemon is at the top of the game.
Customers know Lululemon for high-quality, comfortable leggings, sports bras, durable bags, outerwear, and more. Now, the brand is making a name for itself for an entirely new reason.
Considered high-end, many may cringe with some of Lululemon’s price points. However, with their new Trade-In program, Like New, you can get gently used Lululemon gear for a lower price. You can also turn in Lululemon you don’t use for a gift card and make a difference in the environment all at the same time.
Lululemon Joins the Fight Against Textile Waste
In reality, consumers can recycle or reuse 95% of all textiles. Instead, 84% of today’s clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators making up for 5.8% of the total garbage housed there. What’s worse, textiles can take up to 200 or more years to decompose. This releases harmful methane and other greenhouse gasses as they do.
To combat the massive impact textile waste is having on our environment, advocates are suggesting thrifting and recycling or upcycling clothing.
The Like New program at Lululemon offers an easy and lucrative way to get involved. They’re also spreading awareness about the issue, too.
Here’s how it works.
Once you trade in your gently used gear to your local Lululemon, the Like New program will refresh that item to resell to someone else. By continuing the life of this item, you’ve kept it out of the landfill.
And if the condition your gear is in doesn’t meet the Like New standards, that item will still be recycled through Lululemon’s partner, Debrand.
By taking advantage of the Like New program in any capacity, you’re making sure the clothes you aren’t wearing ends up somewhere other than a landfill.
How is Like New Different from Lululemon’s Return Policy?
A lot of you might be thinking that the Like New program sort of sounds like a return policy, and you’re right, it does.
But the big difference is that for normal returns to Lululemon, the item must be unworn and unwashed, with the hangtags still attached. That takes an enormous amount of clothing out of the running that Lululemon could potentially reuse.
Lululemon’s Like New program incentivizes customers to bring clothes that didn’t work out or they didn’t end up wanting into their store by offering $5, $10, and $25 buybacks, depending on the item. That money comes back to you in store credit as an e-gift card that you can use immediately!
And with discounted prices on the perfectly good items available for purchase through the Like New store, you can also buy refreshed clothes instead of something new.
To learn more about the Like New program and what items are available for trade-in, visit https://likenew.lululemon.com/tradein.
What Does “Like New” Say About Lululemon’s Marketing?
A brand can consider every decision to be a marketing choice. Lululemon starting Like New is no different.
By pledging themselves to circularity and giving 100% of Like New profits to sustainability initiatives, Lululemon is letting their customers know, in no uncertain terms, that they are for addressing climate change and decreasing textile waste. Better yet, they are getting the ball rolling by doing it themselves. They are inviting others to get involved too by educating and proposing a call to action.
The Like New page reads “If everyone bought one item used instead of new this year, it would save the equivalent of 18,700 dump trucks full of waste, the water of 12.5 billion showers, and the carbon equivalent of planting 66 million trees.”
What Can We Learn from this Lululemon Marketing Strategy?
Well, first and foremost, we can learn that textile waste is a problem that needs addressing. Likely, you can find a way to start a similar program with your brand.
But, perhaps more immediately, we learn about the potential establishing your brand’s values can have.
Before making any brand decision, a company has to weigh the pros and cons of it. Donating the profits from Like New means that Lululemon won’t get that money. But they’ve also potentially brought in more customers that take a brand’s values into account when shopping.
Think about what you want customers to know about your brand outside of what you sell. Do you locally source? Family owned? Are you women-led or black-owned? Do you donate to any local charities or have you pledged yourself to any initiatives?
Having a brand is not only a money-making opportunity. It’s a chance to educate and invite others to make a difference, too.
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