Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Ingredients in Yoga and Other Workout Clothes

The New York Times reports that it commissioned laboratory tests of a VitaSea shirt, one of the Lululemon Athletica lines, to determine whether claims by the company that the fabric purportedly containing seaweed "releases marine amino acids, minerals and vitamins into the skin upon contact with moisture." Results? According to the Times, "there was no significant difference in mineral levels between the VitaSea fabric and cotton T-shirts. In other words, the labs found no evidence of seaweed in the Lululemon clothing." Lululemon founder and Chairman Dennis Wilson reportedly could not dispute the Times' findings.

This kind of behavior by a company, particularly a publicly-held company, is no different than lying in financial statements. The need for transparency is equally applicable, whether in a product's characteristics or in the financial statements submitted to the SEC.

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