Lifestyles of the Rich and Gullible

By Olivia Leigh in Miscellaneous on Nov 15, 2007 8:27PM

If you were looking for a product that provided anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating and detoxifying benefits; reduced stress; and released "marine amino acids, minerals and vitamins into the skin upon contact with moisture," where would you turn? A secret spa treatment? Okay. A facial mask? Sure, that could work. A t-shirt? Yeah, we wouldn't either.

But apparently women with money to burn have been scooping up garments at Lululemon, a yoga and workout garment boutique, for just these reasons. The company, which has outposts in Lincoln Park and the 900 N Michigan building, hawks its VitaSea clothing line, supposedly made from seaweed fiber manufactured by a company called SeaCell, with tags that claim to provide all of the benefits above.

However, in an independent test done by the New York Times, the seaweed shirts were found to, well, be lacking any seaweed, possessing the same mineral content as standard cotton shirts. Oops!

Dennis Wilson, Lululemon’s founder, chief product designer and board chairman, who might be a good candidate for a PR wrangler, told the Times: “If you actually put it on and wear it, it is different from cotton. ... That’s my only test of it."

A good theory, Mr. Wilson, but when customers are shelling out $45 for a top to get sweaty in and $100+ for a pair of pants to stretch in, we'd hope they'd be buying us a drink too, or, at the very least, doing what the tag claims.

Lululemon VitaSea tank from their Website.