Hemp Or Hype – The Rules On Textile Labelling In Canada

In the world of marketing, companies are constantly trying to improve their products to differentiate them from the competition. One popular development is to emphasize a product’s environmental attributes, organic qualities or health effects. For instance, clothing is often touted as being made with hemp, bamboo or organic cotton. With these improved products come the marketing claims extolling their virtues. However companies have to be cautious in how far they go with these claims.

A very well-known company, Lululemon Athletica Inc., has recently been the subject of a media frenzy¹ and swift intervention by the Competition Bureau concerning the claims it has made regarding the seaweed content in, and health benefits of, its line of VitaSea clothing. A third party questioned the validity of these claims following an independent study and the New York Times commissioned its own study which seemed to support the third party’s findings. Lululemon’s stock soured, at least initially,