Last week, Chip Wilson, the founder of the athletic apparel store Lululemon, made a defense against their leggings for running being too sheer. Instead of blaming the products’ material, he resorted to fat shaming. He said, “Quite frankly, some people’s bodies just don’t actually work. It’s about the rubbing of the thighs.” 

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time a clothing company has made such superficial remarks. Some companies exclusively market to certain consumer groups, and unfortunately this limits people above a certain size. But what it comes down to is this— does it really matter what size a person is? Should it really matter if we wear a small or a large? We should be taking into account how healthy a person is, not what size they wear. 

When Lululemon makes comments about how only “skinny” people should wear their clothes, do they know they are being discriminatory to current and potential customers?  Some stores live by the Kate Moss quote, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” We should be living in a society that teaches, “Nothing feels as good as healthy feels.” We shouldn’t care if someone is a size small or large; we should care that they are maintaining a healthy lifestyle and balancing their diet, exercise plan and extracurricular activities. Don’t athletic apparel clothing companies want people who have muscle and who practice healthy living wearing their clothes? 

What these companies don’t always realize is that discrimination in business practices alienates a lot of potential and existing customers. Discrimination eliminates potential clients, and that’s just bad business. Your body is not the problem; social constraints on what your body should look like are the problem. Lululemon has issued an apology for making exclusive comments about who should wear their clothing. Listen here, what’s cool is being healthy not feeling constrained to a size that doesn’t fit your body. So, take that, Lululemon and other exclusive clothing companies.