If you are not a LuLaRoe fashion retailer and you believe what you read on the company’s website, you are living in a dystopian version of your life.
You work too much, you barely have enough money to get by, you don’t see your family enough, and you have long forgotten what it’s like to have spare time to spend relaxing.
There’s a good chance your life is “out of sync with (your) values or dreams,” as LuLaRoe puts it.
Thankfully, the company has another option for you:
“Becoming a LuLaRoe Fashion Retailer can provide you opportunity to have the means, the time, and the flexibility to pursue your passions and to more fully enjoy the company of those you love,” the company says in a section of the website dedicated to encouraging new members to join and sell its products. “It can be the way by which you overcome a setback or finally get beyond ‘just making ends meet.’”
The website doesn’t stop there.
“It can restore or improve confidence in both your appearance and your abilities and it will provide immense satisfaction as you help others to find such confidence in themselves,” the company goes on to say.
With promises like that, it’s no wonder more than 80,000 people have signed up to sell LuLaRoe’s products and 150-200 more people sign up every day.
But according to a class-action lawsuit filed last week, LuLaRoe is selling a dream that has turned into a nightmare for its customers.
So Why is LuLaRoe Being Sued?
Two LuLaRoe customers, Julie Dean of Boston and Suzanne Jones of Lafayette, California, filed the class-action lawsuit. Both women purchased several pairs of leggings from LuLaRoe fashion retailers. They say the products were defective, and returning or exchanging them was impossible.
And they aren’t the only ones who have had problems. There is an 18,000-member-strong private Facebook group for people who have purchased ripped or otherwise defective LuLaRoe leggings or other clothing.
“Specifically, customers have complained that the leggings are of such poor quality that holes, tears, and rips appear before wearing, during the first use or shortly thereafter,” the lawsuit said. “The leggings have also been described as tearing as easily as ‘wet toilet paper.’ Other problems with the products include leggings that have one leg that is substantially larger (or smaller) than the other, and leggings that are supposed to be for adults but instead would only fit a child.”
The lawsuit also says that this problem is likely making it much more difficult for most fashion retailers — who paid between $5,000 and $9,000 for the “onboarding package” needed to start selling LuLaRoe’s products — to ever make their money back.
Anyone who lives in the U.S. and bought LuLaRoe brand leggings after March 31, 2016 for normal use qualifies to be a member of the lawsuit. There are no details on how much in damages the plaintiffs are suing for, but we’ll update you once this information is available.
LuLaRoe Has Allegedly Known About its Issues and Ignored Them
Dean and Jones go on to say the company is well aware of the issues with its leggings, which sell for $25, citing news reports that quote an email Patrick Winget, head of production for LuLaRoe, sent in January.
Business Insider obtained the email in which Winget said: “The leggings may get holes, because we weaken the fibers to make them buttery soft… We have done all we can to fix them.”
According to Jones and Dean, that is proof the billion-dollar company chose to “sacrifice the quality of their products in order to meet the growing demand at the expense of customers.”
When customers complained to the company, its representatives reportedly told them to file returns with the fashion retailers who sold them the items. From there, the company allegedly dodged the retailers, and refused to answer phone calls and emails about returns and exchanges.
The Better Business Bureau gives LuLaRoe an “F.”
But it Can’t be All Bad, Can it?
Despite their complaints, Dean and Jones would like to purchase more products from the company in the future, the lawsuit states. — although they likely won’t, because there is no way to inspect the products before purchasing them.
And although LuLaRoe earned a failing grade, 56% of the company’s BBB reviews are positive.
In a review written the same day the lawsuit was filed, a person identified only as “William” had nothing but great things to say about the company.
“I have been a consultant for 6 months and a customer for much longer,” the reviewer wrote. “I think this is an amazing business with a truly wonderful culture. I am disheartened that BBB can give an F rating to a company that is doing so much good in the community and this country.”
The reviewer went on to congratulate the company on its fast growth and called issues with quality “growing pains.”
Another happy customer identified as “Jill K.” said she purchased three dresses, five tops, three pairs of leggings and three skirts from multiple retailers and received great-quality clothing.
With the lawsuit filed, Dean and Jones have requested a jury trial. It’s too soon to tell if that will happen, or if the LuLaRoe will settle the case in another way.
Your Turn: Do you own any LuLaRoe leggings? Do you love them or hate them?
Desiree Stennett is a staff writer at the Penny Hoarder. She doesn’t own any LuLaRoe leggings.
The post LuLaRoe’s Leggings, Practices Allegedly Suck, and Now it’s Being Sued appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
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