Elevating The World

I have been fortunate enough to have been an Elite Athlete Ambassador for Lululemon for one year now!!! Although injury kept me from competing this weekend at the World Outdoor Championships, I was instead blessed with the opportunity to spend this past week in Vancouver, B.C. at Lululemon headquarters.  What an amazing experience this was.  With one other Elite Athlete (Canadian Swimmer) and over 50 Ambassadors from all over the world. I was able to meet the Founder, CEO and all of the people who make Lululemon one of the greatest companies in the world.

No one would ever have to convince me that the workout gear this company makes is the best there is.  Extremely well made, very functional, and also lets be honest, it looks good on!  What I was blown away by, at this retreat, was how truly dedicated the company is to the betterment of society.  Their mission statement is "To elevate the world of mediocrity to a place of greatness" Through their local Ambassadors, the community is given a chance to come together to practice yoga, participate in bootcamps, and join in on group runs.  All at no cost to yourself. . . They kept telling us the whole weekend to give without expectations.  And they practice what they preach, which I have a whole lot of respect for!

One thing that can be a deterrent from Lululemon is the pricing of their clothes. . . We had a chance to ask Chip Wilson (the founder) any questions we wanted to during one of our meetings.  A fellow ambassador asked why the clothing cost so much, and why they couldn't lower it so that the average person could purchase it.  I had often wondered this same question.  Chip explained it amazingly, which I know I will not be able to do justice explaining.  He said that when he decided to create clothing hewanted it to be made only of the very best and most durable material.  Every garment you buy is created to last at LEAST 5 to 6 years.  In doing so, this cost a great deal more to manufacture, which means that you must pay more.  You can however, look at it as making an investment in your clothing.  You may not be able to buy as much, but what you do buy will last.

I can vouch for the lasting fact, because I have now own all my Lululemon workout gear for one year. And seeing as I workout 6-8 hours a day in it, in that one year, may wear it more than the average person would in 3 years.  Just the other day I had someone ask if my tights were brand new.  That is how well they keep.  They have not lost shape, nor has the color faded even a little.  I have also bought inexpensive tights from a place like Target, which I love, but they do not even last a year.  So if I payed a little over $20 every year for Target workout gear, by year 5 I have spent more money and gone through more clothing.  Which does happen to go against my "Thinking Green" philosophy :)

To sum it up, this past week made me even more proud to be sponsored by a company like Lululemon.  Financially they have been a huge help to me in taking away the costs of buying workout gear.  It also feels very nice to endorse a product that continues to make an impact in their communities!!!