Why This Lululemon Shopping Bag Is Causing a Major Uproar
Lululemon was one of the first names in athleisure, and between the super-soft leggings and free yoga classes in-store, it’s no secret why the brand has so many diehard fans. Each purchase comes with an added bonus: The instantly recognizable reusable shopping bag emblazoned with healthy life advice… usually. Shoppers are concerned after reading one tidbit printed on the side of these bags.
Nestled in between the suggestions to “sweat once a day to regenerate your skin” and “Dance, sing, floss, and travel” is a statement with some questionable sun protection advice.
Redditor paynowork posted a photo of the bag that reads, “Sunscreen absorbed into the skin might be worse for you than sunshine. Get the right amount of sunshine.” Hmmm. It’s especially mystifying because an earlier version of the shopping bag emphatically suggested shoppers to “Wear sunscreen!”
The post, which went up five days ago, quickly racked up hundreds of other comments, with some users expressing their disappointment in the brand (“This is a very dangerous message. I will never understand this logic or lack of logic,” one Redditor wrote) and others who would rather ignore the “advice” (“TBH I’d happily take breakouts from sunscreen over skin cancer any day,” wrote another).
The thing is, it’s not the first time this questionable blurb has racked up controversy — in fact, Lululemon was called out for this SPF alternative fact back in 2014, and at the time, the company issued a statement to Business Insider in response saying,“The manifesto design that goes on our bags is a collection of statements that are ever-evolving and intended to spark conversation that is relevant at the time. To clarify, the manifesto design on our webpage is the most up-to-date and has been used on our most recent release of manifesto print bags.” The version on their website now has no mention of sunscreen.
Our advice? Don’t follow skincare tips from a shopping bag. Listen to science and wear sunscreen to protect your skin from both skin cancer and aging. There are other methods of getting enough vitamin D, but few alternatives other than SPF for protecting your body’s biggest organ against the sun.
Are you surprised by the not-so-factual fact printed on Lululemon shopping bags? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(h/t Marie Claire; photos via Stuart C. Wilson, Joe Raedle/Getty, paynowork/Reddit, Getty)
