Lululemon distances itself from founder’s comments on its ‘whole diversity and inclusion thing’

Lululemon’s controversial founder is back with criticisms about its diversity and inclusion efforts — and the athleticwear company is distancing itself from his comments.

Lululemon’s controversial founder is back with criticisms about its diversity and inclusion efforts — and the athleticwear company is distancing itself from his comments. It’s been almost a decade since Chip Wilson left the company, but the founder has gripes about Lululemon’s “whole diversity and inclusion thing,” according to a new profile in Forbes. Wilson had founded the yogawear brand in 1998 in Vancouver, British Columbia. “They’re trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody,” Wilson told Forbes. “And I think the definition of a brand is that you’re not everything to everybody… You’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in.” He also used a flurry of descriptions for the faces in the athleticwear’s ads: “unhealthy,” “sickly” and “not inspirational.” In a statement to CNN, Lululemon said that Wilson does not speak for the company and that his views don’t stand for its values or beliefs. It said it’s a “very different company today” since Wilson left the board in 2015, and that he has not been involved with the company since. “lululemon is committed to creating and fostering an inclusive, diverse, and welcoming environment throughout our organization and across our communities. We have made considerable progress since launching our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) function, and we are proud of the goals we have achieved,” a company spokesperson said over email.