LulaRoe has taken social media by storm over the past few years by touting «buttery-soft» leggings sold by independent consultants on social media.
The company is a multilevel marketing company, which means its inventory is bought by «consultants» that then sell the clothing directly to the consumer.
LulaRoe sells shirts, dresses, and other clothes, but its signature products are the «buttery-soft» leggings, which retail for $25 plus tax. They come in two sizes, OS (One Size) and TC (Tall & Curvy).
However, many women online are now complaining that their trendy new leggings are ripping after they wore them just once or twice, with often embarrassing results.
«Dropped my daughter off to school and felt a little draft but didn’t notice until I got home,» Paula Brown, who took the photo on the left, told BuzzFeed News. «Holes in knees, seams, and the behind.»
Now, two women have filed a class-action lawsuit in California saying the brand’s leggings are of poor quality.
laintiffs Suzanne Jones and Julie Dean allege in the lawsuit, filed March 23, that the company is knowingly selling poor quality leggings to their consultants and customers. They are suing the company and its married founders, DeAnne Brady and Mark Stidham.
«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 states. «The leggings have also been described as tearing as easily as ‘wet toilet paper.’”
The lawsuit also claims that the company knows about the issues, but has chosen to ignore them to keep up with high demand.
It cites a «reported» companywide email from Patrick Winget, the head of production for the company, which allegedly 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.”
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, LulaRoe said the claims in the lawsuit are «completely without merit.»
«We categorically reject the fabricated and exaggerated claims of this suit in the strongest terms and believe it is completely without merit. We stand by the quality of our products and are committed to ensuring consumers are fully satisfied. We are confident we will be able to fully refute these allegations,» the statement said.
Many women have taken to social media to complain about their LulaRoe leggings ripping. And these women say it’s not just one defective pair. Multiple women have claimed to BuzzFeed News that they have had several pairs rip.
Ginger Calbais, who provided the photo on the left, said these rips «happened with five other pairs» of the leggings.
Stephanie Kornicke Alwill, who took the photo on the right, said four of her nine pairs have similar holes, and she is afraid to wear them now.
«Sat on a suede couch for a few hours bingeing on Netflix and this happened,» customer April Etchart said of her leggings, on the left.
«Worn one time at home, never washed,» Erin Haralambis said of hers, on the right.
«Two hours of wear,» Brittany McLaughlin said.
Many women said they are now afraid to wear the leggings in public after having embarrassing experiences.
«I stopped wearing mine and got rid of most of them after the last public blowout…I was carrying around an extra pair all the time and always touching my booty to make sure nothing had happened,» customer Krystle Heibel said.
Women who have worn them to work have also gotten themselves into sticky situations, they claim.
«This happened at work — thankfully I always wear them under a dress or skirt,» customer Lisa Maries said of her pair in the photo above, adding she has not had issues with all of her LulaRoe.
This led to some uncomfortable situations, like what happened to customer Kristy Fogle.
«My coworker, a male, told me my underwear was showing,» she said. «The legging had ripped across my entire butt cheek. How embarrassing?! I now carry an extra pair with me at all times because I have had multiple rip on me, both [sizes]. It doesn’t matter size, where they are made, etc. The quality is abysmal. To charge $25 for something that is literally like cheap toilet paper is ridiculous to me.»
Many women also said that when they complained to their consultants, they did not get a refund and were treated as if they were to blame for the rips.
Many women said they had received responses from their consultants that they had either washed the leggings wrong or bought the wrong size for their body.
«If you go back to the consultant you bought from and ask for a replacement, the typical response is fat-shaming or improper care,» Tiffany Davis, a customer, told BuzzFeed News.
The lawsuit claims that this is due to the fact that LulaRoe will not refund their consultants for «defective» products and «impose various barriers for exchanges.»
«As a result, most fashion consultants will not take back defective products from customers,» the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also notes that consultants also pay $5,000 and $9,000 to start their business with an «Onboard Package» and get about 380 pieces of product. If they are not reimbursed for the allegedly defective product, the consultants would eat the cost of anything they refunded to their customers.
«It is evident [LulaRoe] want to sell Onboard Packages to as many new fashion consultants as they can, even if this means providing them with clothing
that has holes in it and/or has been negligently manufactured,» the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit states that during a call with consultants, the company’s founders, Brady and Stidham, suggested consultants should deal with defects by «learning to sew and repairing any defective products.»
However, other women have stepped up to defend the product. Media sof the lawsuit has been inundated with comments from fans singing the brand’s praises.
«Never had a problem with any of my Lula products. I just tried to intentionally rip my leggings and they just kept stretching,» one woman wrote. «It looks [like] the leggings in the video were torn or snagged.»
«I have a few pairs and my mom wears nothing but this brand,» another wrote. «Absolutely no issues. Clothes wear out when you wear them consistently.»
