They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but when it comes to counterfeit lululemon garments, we don’t need the compliment.
Why is fake lululemon bad?
Counterfeit products affect:
1. Quality. The fake products are not performance based (i.e. soft and moisture-wicking), the construction is poor (seams and stitching) and technical features are missing.
2. Manufacturing. The bottom line is, you don’t know the factory conditions where the product is being made. We have high standards for every partner in accordance with International Labour Organization standards. Buying counterfeit products does not guarantee these standards were met during the sourcing and production of the garment.
How to spot a fake lululemon hoodie:
The following is a list of things to look for to figure out if your hoodie is the real deal or not. The photos below on the left are real. The ones on the right are fake.
*Please note – the features listed below apply to hoodies from Fall/Winter 2008. Older hoodies may not have all of the items outlined in this blog post*
1. Overall quality is low. Look for seam puckering and uneven stitching.
2. Missing write-able satin name label and size label inside left wearing pocket.
3. Quality of care label material is different and shorter. There are spelling mistakes on the fake tear-out tag, and it does not tear out easily.
4. The zippers are not YKK
5. The logo pull quality is low in appearance, such as the rubber edges and elastic quality. The logo pull elastic is not knotted inside so it easily breaks off. (We had one break in our hands as we tried to zip up the hoodie)
6. The undersleeve seam is serged; ours is flatlocked.
7. The backside of the care label is the wrong side up.
8. The logo on the hood does not have even space around it.
9. Our inside seams are flatlocked, the fake ones are not and are uneven.
Want to help?
Visit our discussion forum on facebook and share what you know to help stop others from making the mistake of buying a fake. If you spot a fake product, let us know in the discussion forum or email onlinecommunity@lululemon.com. As a thank you for your integrity we will send you a little something for reporting legitimate rip offs.
Facebook discussion forum: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=9257&uid=33693527731
I think you flip flopped the right one and the wrong one. You said the one on the right was the right one and the gray one on the left was wrong but then you said that the fake one has a missing label but the label is on the left one. Which one is right???
Comment by Wendy — June 29, 2009 @ 11:40 am
It says at the top that the grey one is the real one I and then in the comment about the label being in the left hand pocket was real…I had to re read it to make sure =)
Comment by Kelsey — June 29, 2009 @ 11:51 am
k i have sweater it a purple on and it just fits all of the wrong or fakes what do i do with it?
zipper is broken and doesn’t not have the rubber part on it
the quality is bad and doesn’t have the wright name take on it
the zipper is not YKK
and the sleeves are shorter
and from what i can see every thing else looks ok but i cant really tell
Comment by jesica — June 29, 2009 @ 12:01 pm
Yes, it was kind of hard to understand. I also had to go back and re-read it. On #8, when it says, “The logo on the hood does not have even space around it,” which hoodie are you talking about?
Comment by Haley — June 29, 2009 @ 12:13 pm
i’m shocked! i never realized they are now making lulu knock offs!!!
Comment by ashtangikali — June 29, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
So I was just looking, and comparing both my lululemon hoodies. They were both bought in Lululemon stores.
The one I got this year in early April in Kelowna BC meets all the requirements of a real lululemon.
However, Last year, around April, I bought my black reversible one.
It does not have the writeable satin tag in the left pocket, and the zipper is not YKK.
I boought my black lulu in Metrotown in Vancouver thinking that I got a quality lululemon hoodie and spent 115 on it.. Thank you for showing me this, I will for sure check out the lulu’s I buy from now on.
How can I tell about pants and other Lululemon products?
Comment by jennifer — June 29, 2009 @ 1:34 pm
Thanks for your comments everyone! In response let me clarify a few things:
- The grey hoodie is the real one and the pink hoodie is the fake.
- We didn’t start using the YKK zippers or satin name labels until the Fall/Winter 2008 season. So if your hoodie is from a previous season it won’t have a YKK zipper or satin name label inside the pocket.
If your hoodie is a bit older, your best bet is to rely on the other features mentioned (quality of the sewing, the flatlocked seams, the care label, etc)
Comment by lululemon — June 29, 2009 @ 2:53 pm
Hey Haley,
The pink one on the right is the one that has the logo on the hood that doesn’t have even spacing around it. The lululemon symbol is not evenly centered in the circle – it can be pretty hard to detect, unless you look very closely.
-Lauren
Comment by lululemon — June 29, 2009 @ 2:57 pm
Also, please keep in mind that if you bought your hoodie from one of our stores or from our online store it is real. This post is only in regards to those products that are purchased from different sources.
- Lauren
Comment by lululemon — June 29, 2009 @ 2:59 pm
I just bought a Remix Hoodie Lux hoodie in white. Online it looks like the inside seam (along the front zip) should be yellow. And the logo on the hood should be yellow. But the sweatshirt I got in the mail has LIME GREEN accents.
Also, there’s no writable satin tag in the left pocket. which merits another 
… Any chance I received an “old” hoodie? I reeeeeally wanted yellow accents, not lime green. And I sure would’ve liked the satin tag inside the pocket. Just cuz it makes it more special.
Comment by Melissa — June 29, 2009 @ 3:48 pm
So what happens if you bought a Lulu Hoodie online and the zipper pull pulled off similar to the photo posted?
Comment by Mia Lunseth — June 29, 2009 @ 3:54 pm
Geez! I didn’t know there has been fake lulus out-there until I read this! Thanks for the info!!
Comment by Lina — June 29, 2009 @ 6:26 pm
Are there also fake Lululemon pants? I check out eBay periodically for styles I can’t get any more and just wondering.
Comment by Connie — June 29, 2009 @ 9:03 pm
Hey Connie, I’m not sure if we’ve found any other fake products like pants or bags – but I will look in to it right now!!
- Lauren
Comment by lululemon — July 1, 2009 @ 12:41 pm
Sorry to hear the Remix Lux you received wasn’t quite the one you wanted Melissa! You can call the GEC (1.877.263.9300) and we can help you out no problem.
- Lauren
Comment by lululemon — July 1, 2009 @ 12:52 pm
Hi Mia,
Don’t worry, if you bought our hoodie from our online store then it is real. With so many hoodies out there zipper-pulls are bound to snap once in a while on the real hoodies too – you can go in to your local store or give the GEC (1.877.263.9300) and we’ll be happy help you.
If you bought the hoodie from another source online, I can’t make any guarantees that it’s real, but I would take in to account all the other ‘fakes’ features listed above as well. It’s like I said before, real hoodie zipper-pulls snap once in a while too, but if you have more than 2 or 3 things wrong then that may be cause for alarm…
I hope this helps! If you have any questions, you can call the GEC anytime (between 6am-7pm PST)at 1.877.263.9300
- Lauren
Comment by lululemon — July 1, 2009 @ 1:21 pm
I second Melissa @ 3:28s emotions…The picture of the Remix lux hoodie in white is EXTREMELY deceptive! I too wanted a white hoodie with yellow zipper taping and yellow logo as pictured, but instead received one with a yellow logo and LIME GREEN (Or should I say Alfalfa) accents! I made this comment a week ago on Facebook as well and I see that the photo online has not changed YET! You all really need to change this as it doesn’t reflect the integrity that Lululemon wants to project, no?
Comment by Laura — July 1, 2009 @ 3:56 pm
Okay Thanks for the response….my hubby bought the hoodie for me at the Lululemon in West Edmonton Mall….I would never ever buy any Lulu from anywhere but Lululemon to avoid fakes…..I still love the hoodie and I can survive with out the zipper pull….I have 23 hoodies and don’t mind if one zipper pull is missing.
Comment by Mia Lunseth — July 1, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
Hey Mia,
The zipper pulls are actually just our hair ties, so you can use one of those if you have any (They’re also handy to have if you forget to bring a hair tie to the gym!) But I’ll see what if I can find one for you around the office
- Lauren
Comment by lululemon — July 2, 2009 @ 11:16 am
Hi,
I also had a problem with the zipper pull breaking on my black hoodie. It was bought at your Robson store, so I am sure it isn’t fake. Do you sell the zipper pulls seperately at all?
Sarah
Comment by Sarah — July 5, 2009 @ 9:04 pm
Hello! Do you have an emailaddress where I can send some pictures, to ask if a product is fake or not? Thanks, greetings from Holland,
Rinske
Comment by Rinske Faber — July 5, 2009 @ 11:25 pm
Hey Rinske,
You can direct any questions you have and send pictures to the GEC. Our number is 1.877.263.9300 (toll-free within North America) and our email address is gec@lululemon.com.
- Lauren
Comment by lululemon — July 7, 2009 @ 7:45 am
Honestly I wouldn’t mind having a serged seam on my jacket or a lack of YKK zipper.
Comment by Justin Wong — July 12, 2009 @ 2:10 pm