After almost a decade of spurring Lululemon’s embrace of progressive supplies and secondhand gross sales, Esther Speck is stepping away. Speck, who joined the Vancouver athleisure put on large in 2015 as vice chairman of worldwide sustainability, spent the previous two years as its senior vice chairman of worldwide sustainable enterprise and influence.
“After I joined Lululemon 10 years in the past, I got down to construct a world operate, enterprise technique, and platform for influence — one that will assist form the way forward for this excessive development model and catalyze influence past the corporate’s partitions,” Speck posted on LinkedIn on Might 8. “I’m proud to say that we’ve achieved this. What started as a small, mighty staff is now a world community of over 80 good leaders all over the world … .”
Speck approached sustainability as an innovation problem, she instructed Trellis Co-Founder Joel Makower in 2024. She additionally noticed that work via the lens of “what it means to be a model rooted in well-being.”
Innovating
Athletic put on depends closely on artificial supplies constituted of fossil fuels. As Lululemon’s web income greater than doubled from 2020 to 2023, so did its greenhouse gases. And that attracted hearth from activists. So in 2020, Lululemon made an bold dedication: for one hundred pc of its merchandise to characteristic most well-liked content material and end-of-life options by 2030.
In taking Lululemon midway via this 10-year transformation, Speck was concerned in quite a few interconnected applications and workstreams to increase product life and innovate supplies. Startups benefiting from Lululemon’s strategic investments and partnerships included Geno, maker of a plant-based nylon, and Bolt Threads, maker of a fungus-based leather-based different (discontinued in 2023). Most lately, Lululemon introduced, in March, a partnership with ZymoChem to develop work on biobased nylon. One other partnership, with Australian enzymatic recycler Samsara Eco, resulted within the Swiftly Tech long-sleeve high and an anorak jacket.
By 2023, Lululemon counted 57 % most well-liked supplies in its sourcing, a one-year rise of 44 %.
In the meantime, Lululemon Like New branded resale program llaunched 4 years in the past. Speck credit the heads of retail and innovation for spearheading that initiative.
Throughout Speck’s tenure, Lululemon additionally engaged in a number of collaborations to advance local weather progress throughout the attire trade. These embrace the UN Constitution for Local weather Motion; the Vogue Local weather Fund, an Attire Impression Institute challenge to drive down emissions within the trade’s provide chains; and Vogue for Good’s Sorting for Circularity USA effort to map textile waste.
Transferring ahead
One yr in the past, the Ladies’s Govt Community named her one of many high 100 strongest ladies in Canada. “Play the lengthy recreation, belief and spend money on individuals, be true to your self, invite daring imaginative and prescient and pragmatic motion,” Speck stated round that point.
Her undefined subsequent steps embrace “adventuring on this stunning planet past the boardroom, whereas persevering with to contribute via thought management and mentorship earlier than beginning new influence endeavors.”
Likewise, it’s unknown who will fill her footwear at Lululemon as its 2030 supplies innovation targets and more and more difficult net-zero local weather aim for 2050 close to.
