Former Nike CSO Noel Kinder joins Lululemon

Fifteen months after retiring as Nike’s chief sustainability officer, Noel Kinder will be leading Lululemon’s “impact agenda.” The athleisure giant welcomed him as its new senior vice president of sustainability, less than a week after Esther Speck, vice president of global sustainability for a decade, revealed her planned departure.

Kinder brings 25 years of diverse experience at Nike. In 2018, he slipped into the chief sustainability officer sneakers of innovation legend Hannah Jones, the first in that role. Kinder was tasked with advancing her “moonshot” goal, set two years earlier, to double the company’s business while halving its environmental impact.

How does a company grow while shrinking its footprint on nature? That question echoes Lululemon’s tensions today. The Vancouver company’s sales more than doubled in recent years but so have emissions, steepening the climb toward its 2050 net zero target. Yet the brand has enthusiastically pursued alternatives to virgin fossil-fuel based polyester and nylon, investing in chemical recycling startups ZymoChem and Samsara Eco. Tariffs bring yet another wrinkle to the supply chain picture.

“He brings deep global experience in building and scaling sustainability strategies and goals that drive impact and results,” said Lululemon Chief Supply Chain Officer Ted Dagnese. “Noel’s leadership, global perspective and proven track record will be instrumental as we continue to advance our impact work to create a more circular and sustainable future.” 

In addition to achieving net zero emissions 15 years from now, Kinder is responsible for driving Lululemon toward a closer goal, by 2030, of 100 percent preferred content and end-of-life solutions. The company grew its preferred materials from 44 percent in 2022 to 57 percent one year later.

“Lululemon is a leader in innovation and deeply committed to advancing its sustainability and climate goals,” Kinder said in a May 16 press release. “I look forward to partnering with the talented teams across the company to continue this critical work and create meaningful, lasting change.” 

The Nike journey

While at Nike, Kinder expanded the Beaverton, Oregon, company’s sustainability headcount from 75 to 300; led its “Move to Zero” initiative for zero carbon and waste; and experimented with kelp “leather” and plant-based foam for shoes.

Near the end of his tenure, however, the brand’s sustainability star fell from grace. Sales were flat; emissions were rising. In a terse Zoom call in December 2023, the company axed its sustainable innovation team, according to ProPublica last year. Two months later, with the CSO role demoted to reporting to leaders two ranks below the CEO, Kinder announced his retirement, the report noted.

In the past year, Kinder teamed up with former Adidas President Eric Liedtke on a $125 million public-private partnership to create a site for footwear innovation in Portland’s historic Chinatown neighborhood. “To use the industry that I spent so much time in as the catalyst for that transformation was really icing on the cake,” he told Trellis in August.

In January, Kinder joined the board of Uncaged Innovations, a New York City startup creating a leather alternative from grains. Last year, he joined The Executive Council at o9 Solutions.

While at Nike, Kinder had served for several years as a member of the sustainability advisory council at the New York Stock Exchange and as a steering committee member of the Global Fashion Agenda.

Nike and Lululemon overlap

Nike and Lululemon have both experimented with “next-generation” materials in apparel and footwear. Nike was the apparel industry’s biggest buyer of recycled polyester during Kinder’s tenure, although he has recognized that preferable alternatives may emerge in the future.

The West Coast brands also have significant supply chains in Vietnam. Lululemon makes about 40 percent of its goods there, which brings new complications after the White House levied tariffs on that country.

Kinder moved his family of five to Ho Chi Minh City in 2013 when he became general manager of Nike in Vietnam. He managed a team of hundreds, integrating sustainability into the daily operations. Three years later, Kinder rose to vice president of sustainable manufacturing and sourcing, responsible for one million workers in factories across 42 nations. Two years after that, he became CSO.

Lululemon’s tagline, “Be all in,” parallels the Nike “Just do it” mantra. Watchdog groups, however, have criticized the brands’ embrace of outdoor fitness for clashing with their heavy use of fossil fuel-based synthetic apparel.

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