Lululemon agrees to three years of supplier chemical checks to close Texas PFAS probe; filing says state found none in its products

Lululemon has agreed to keep testing and certifying the materials in its athletic wear for the next three years to close a Texas investigation into "forever chemicals," Attorney General Ken Paxton's office announced Thursday. The agreement itself says the state's review turned up no such chemicals in the company's products.

The deal is an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It is dated Oct. 16 and was filed Monday, Oct. 19, in district court in Collin County, where the attorney general asked a judge to approve it.

What the state looked at

Paxton's office opened the investigation in April to find out whether Lululemon misled shoppers about the safety and health effects of its products, including whether they contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, according to the attorney general's announcement. The office points to research tying those chemicals to cancer, infertility and hormone disruption.

The agreement says the state sent the company a civil investigative demand on March 26 and that Lululemon answered on time and cooperated. The only lapse the state alleges is that, for one edition of the company's list of banned and limited substances, Lululemon did not collect signed acknowledgment forms from two suppliers. Those forms have since been signed.

After reviewing the company's documents, "the State did not identify PFAS in lululemon products or Materials," the filing says.

Lululemon does not admit breaking any law and "expressly denies" liability, according to the document. It lists no fine, and each side covers its own court costs.

What the company promises

For three years, Lululemon must keep requiring suppliers to prove their materials meet its restricted-substances list, either with reports from a company-designated lab or with outside certifications such as bluesign or OEKO-TEX Standard 100. If a supplier's certification lapses, its materials must be lab-tested instead, and the company's lab must confirm that certifications are valid.

Lululemon must also take what the agreement calls commercially reasonable steps to correct suppliers that fall short.

If the state believes the company has broken the agreement, it must first give written notice and 60 days to fix the problem before taking enforcement action.

"I will not allow corporations to put the health and safety of Texans at risk by using potentially harmful chemicals in their clothing," Paxton said in the release. His office says it is also investigating Hanes and Fruit of the Loom over chemicals in children's clothing.

Sources

texasattorneygeneral.gov

texasattorneygeneral.gov