Listen, I won’t lie: I love me some Costco and some Lululemon.
My husband recently bought a Costco membership for our family, and it has been so fun to shop there. I can’t explain it, but something comes over me in that giant warehouse. Money means nothing, the world fades away, and I transform into a trepidatious warrior fighting to feed my family for the long, cold winter – with nothing but giant boxes of fruit snacks and industrial-size street corn dip, apparently.
Regardless, to know Costco is to love Costco, and it doesn’t take long before you fall into the slippery slope of clothes shopping at Costco. It’s even more true when those clothes are so darn affordable.
A few of Costco’s clothing items are so affordable and so well-made, in fact, that other companies are taking notice. Especially when there is an almost $120 price difference.
Specifically, Lululemon, which has filed a lawsuit alleging that Costco is purposefully ripping off its designs.
“Lululemon files this action as part of its intellectual property enforcement efforts directed to retailers who have chosen to copy rather than compete,” Lululemon notes in the lawsuit.
“Costco has unlawfully traded upon Plaintiffs’ reputation, goodwill and sweat equity by selling unauthorized and unlicensed apparel employing knockoff, infringing versions of Plaintiffs’ well-known trade dress and design patents,” the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit singled out a few of the warehouse’s clothing items and even showed side-by-side photos and explained how influencers on social media are sharing the clothes as “dupes” with specific hashtags like “LululemonDupes.”
One of the clothing pieces the lawsuit called out is Costco’s Danskin Women’s Half-Zip Hoodie, which rivals Lululemon’s popular Scub Half-Zip hoodies, which cost $120 more.
Here’s the Costco version first, for comparison purposes:
Danskin Women's Half-Zip Hoodie
$7.97
from
Costco’s hoodie is a half-zip with a relaxed fit and was available in-store, with additional plus sizes up to 3X available online. Unfortunately, or perhaps as a result of the lawsuit, the hoodie is out of stock online at the moment.
The hoodie came in green (Dark Sea), tan (Moonbeam) and purple (Lavender) colors and featured a kangaroo pocket, along with a ribbed hem and cuffs.
It was also part of Costco’s mix and match promotion, so shoppers could save $20 off a purchase of clothes that mixed and matched five to nine qualifying items, or $50 off with 10-plus qualifying items.
And notably, the hoodie is priced at only $7.97.
In comparison, Lululemon’s popular half-zip hoodie is $128.
Lululemon Scuba Oversized Half-Zip Hoodie Long
According to Lululemon, Costco’s products “are difficult to distinguish from authentic Lululemon products.”
The lawsuit also claims that because the products are hard to distinguish, it may even lead some customers to “incorrectly believe these Infringing Products are authentic lululemon apparel” and horror of horrors, “purchase the infringing products” either on accident or on purpose because they look like an authentic Lululemon product.
The lawsuit also accused Costco’s Spyder Women’s Yoga Jacket of being an “infringing product” to Lululemon’s Define Scuba Jacket.
Spyder Women's Yoga Jacket
The Spyder jacket is still in stock, and you can pick it up for less than $22 in-store or online. It comes in blue, pink, or black and in sizes up to 2X.
“Excellent quality!!!! Very similar to an expensive and popular name brand one I also have,” shares one shopper on Costco’s site about the jacket.
The lawsuit compares the Costco Spyder jacket to Lululemon’s $128 Define Scuba jacket, which comes in a few different variations.
Lululemon Define Jacket Luon
The lawsuit also names some of Costco’s men’s products, such as the Hi-Tec Men’s Scuba Full Zip and its Kirkland 5-pocket pants, as impostor pieces.
Lululemon went on to accuse Costco of “deception” among customers and called the warehouse’s actions “willful, deliberate, intentional, and in bad faith.”
*Psst: if you choose to purchase an item from this post, CafeMom.com may receive a small cut. Each item and price is up to date at the time of publication; however, an item may be sold out or the price may be different at a later date.
