Fifteen months after retiring as Nike’s chief sustainability officer, Noel Kinder might be main Lululemon’s “affect agenda.” The athleisure large welcomed him as its new senior vice chairman of sustainability, lower than per week after Esther Speck, vice chairman of world sustainability for a decade, revealed her deliberate departure.
Kinder brings 25 years of numerous expertise at Nike. In 2018, he slipped into the chief sustainability officer sneakers of innovation legend Hannah Jones, the primary in that position. Kinder was tasked with advancing her “moonshot” aim, set two years earlier, to double the corporate’s enterprise whereas halving its environmental affect.
How does an organization develop whereas shrinking its footprint on nature? That query echoes Lululemon’s tensions as we speak. The Vancouver firm’s gross sales greater than doubled lately however so have emissions, steepening the climb towards its 2050 web zero goal. But the model has enthusiastically pursued options to virgin fossil-fuel primarily based polyester and nylon, investing in chemical recycling startups ZymoChem and Samsara Eco. Tariffs carry one more wrinkle to the provision chain image.
“He brings deep world expertise in constructing and scaling sustainability methods and targets that drive affect and outcomes,” mentioned Lululemon Chief Provide Chain Officer Ted Dagnese. “Noel’s management, world perspective and confirmed monitor report might be instrumental as we proceed to advance our affect work to create a extra round and sustainable future.”
Along with reaching web zero emissions 15 years from now, Kinder is chargeable for driving Lululemon towards a better aim, by 2030, of one hundred pc most well-liked content material and end-of-life options. The corporate grew its most well-liked supplies from 44 p.c in 2022 to 57 p.c one 12 months later.
“Lululemon is a frontrunner in innovation and deeply dedicated to advancing its sustainability and local weather targets,” Kinder mentioned in a Might 16 press launch. “I look ahead to partnering with the proficient groups throughout the corporate to proceed this essential work and create significant, lasting change.”
The Nike journey
Whereas at Nike, Kinder expanded the Beaverton, Oregon, firm’s sustainability headcount from 75 to 300; led its “Transfer to Zero” initiative for zero carbon and waste; and experimented with kelp “leather-based” and plant-based foam for footwear.
Close to the tip of his tenure, nonetheless, the model’s sustainability star fell from grace. Gross sales have been flat; emissions have been rising. In a terse Zoom name in December 2023, the corporate axed its sustainable innovation group, based on ProPublica final 12 months. Two months later, with the CSO position demoted to reporting to leaders two ranks under the CEO, Kinder introduced his retirement, the report famous.
Previously 12 months, Kinder teamed up with former Adidas President Eric Liedtke on a $125 million public-private partnership to create a website for footwear innovation in Portland’s historic Chinatown neighborhood. “To make use of the business that I spent a lot time in because the catalyst for that transformation was actually icing on the cake,” he advised Trellis in August.
In January, Kinder joined the board of Uncaged Improvements, a New York Metropolis startup making a leather-based different from grains. Final 12 months, he joined The Government Council at o9 Options.
Whereas at Nike, Kinder had served for a number of years as a member of the sustainability advisory council on the New York Inventory Trade and as a steering committee member of the World Trend Agenda.
Nike and Lululemon overlap
Nike and Lululemon have each experimented with “next-generation” supplies in attire and footwear. Nike was the attire business’s greatest purchaser of recycled polyester throughout Kinder’s tenure, though he has acknowledged that preferable options could emerge sooner or later.
The West Coast manufacturers even have important provide chains in Vietnam. Lululemon makes about 40 p.c of its items there, which brings new problems after the White Home levied tariffs on that nation.
Kinder moved his household of 5 to Ho Chi Minh Metropolis in 2013 when he grew to become normal supervisor of Nike in Vietnam. He managed a group of tons of, integrating sustainability into the every day operations. Three years later, Kinder rose to vice chairman of sustainable manufacturing and sourcing, chargeable for a million employees in factories throughout 42 nations. Two years after that, he grew to become CSO.
Lululemon’s tagline, “Be all in,” parallels the Nike “Simply do it” mantra. Watchdog teams, nonetheless, have criticized the manufacturers’ embrace of out of doors health for clashing with their heavy use of fossil fuel-based artificial attire.
