It appears there are might be few holes in clothing company Lularoe’s operation.
Business Insider reported Tuesday that the multi-level marketing company, which boasts 80,000 independent retailers, would refund customers following complaints that leggings “rip like wet toilet paper” within hours of their first wear.
The printed, colorful leggings, which retail for about $25 per pair, have caused at least one class-action lawsuit and undoubtedly contributed to the massive growth of a Facebook group called LuLaRoe Defective/Ripped /Torn Leggings And Clothes. Twenty-six thousand members use the page to post experiences with the brand, sharing how they are “repurposing” leggings into hair towels and halter tops and exchanging information on the brand’s new refund policy.
The brand recently launched the “Make Good” program in response to the issue, providing customers with either a gift card, replacement product or cash for purchases made between Jan. 1, 2016 and April 24, 2017. Its website reads that the company made this decision to “stand behind the quality and craftsmanship” of its products, as well as reassure its many customers they can regain the brand’s trust.
Mark Stidham, the CEO of Lularoe, told Business Insider that he doesn’t feel the brand has much to apologize for, and that the complaints have made up just a small fraction of the hefty sales the company has made since starting four years ago.
Still, the complaints are all over Facebook, on the company’s Better Business Bureau page and even on YouTube.
Anna OBrien, a plus-size fashion blogger who goes by “Glitter and Lazers,” took to her page to break it down in a 20-minute video titled, “Lula Roe is a Waste of Money.” In the clip, she touches on Lularoe’s questionable methods of selling, shows a pair of leggings that had holes in them before she ever put them on and even holds up a shirt to her face to show the fabric’s transparency.
“In short the brand sells overpriced, poorly made goods, that don’t fit well to plus-size women who may not know any better,” she wrote in the video’s caption. OBrien also told HuffPost that her experience issuing complaints about the product was “bizarre.”
“In most businesses, the customer comes first,” she said. “However with LulaRoe, the product has been approached as the holy grail and if any one had issues with it ― valid or not ― they must have the problem. Consultants have been coached to spin issues and poor quality as benefits. It’s been interesting to see, after being on of the first consumers to call out the brand for their bad business practices, all of these other issues come to light.”
HuffPost has reached out to Lularoe for comment.