The Lululemon Like New program was originally launched as a pilot in 2021 in California and Texas, but has now been launched nationwide across the US.
The popular lululemon trade-in program is a great way to pass on your lululemon gear that you’re ready to part ways with, earn yourself some store credit to spend on new gear, and know that your pre-worn and loved apparel is going to continue its life for someone else to enjoy!
As someone who likes to shop at lululemon, the Like New program is fantastic news because buying from the Like New online store instead of buying brand new gear means you can score some great deals on genuine lululemon apparel and accessories such as backpacks – including colors and styles you missed out on the first time around!
In this post I explain:
- How the Like New program works
- How to find out what gear is eligible for trade-in
- How to trade it in and earn store credit, and
- Where to score great deals on buying Like New lululemon gear.
I also share a few of my top picks from the current Like New selection.
How does the lululemon Like New program work?
Gather the lululemon gear you’re ready to part with and bring it to any participating US lululemon store, which is any store that’s not an outlet.
Your gear needs to be clean, in good condition, and eligible for trade-in (some items, such as underwear, are not).
lululemon then reviews the gear to check its condition and resaleability. If there are any items that don’t get accepted when you bring them into the store, you can take those home with you, or use the optional recycling programs offered in select stores.
Once the value of the gear has been assessed, lululemon emails you an e-gift card for those items!
You can use the e-gift card to buy new gear in-store or online on the lululemon.com website.
How much does lululemon pay for used gear trade-ins?
To get an idea of what your ‘gently worn’ gear is worth in terms of e-gift card store credit, at the time of writing this post, the trade-in values include $5 for shirts and shorts, $10 for pants, hoodies and backpacks, and $25 for outerwear.
Visit the Like New trade in page to check the value estimates for specific categories of gear.
The same page will also let you know the categories of gear that are not accepted, and the store(s) near you that are participating in the program.
How the lululemon Like New program benefits the planet
Great quality gear that has a long useful life should be enjoyed for the duration of that life, even when you’re done with it!
Any time you take an item of clothing (or gear such as a backpack) and make it available for someone else to enjoy, you’re extending the life of that item and reducing the need for more brand new gear to be manufactured.
Buying used gear keeps out of landfills and displaces carbon needed to make new clothes (according to apparel resale specialist ThredUP’s 2020 resale report, on average people bought 7 items secondhand over a year instead of new. This displaces 11 billion pounds of C02!).
As well as giving your used gear a new life, the program also benefits the planet in that lululemon puts the profits from the initiative (100% of the program profits or 2% of revenue, whichever is higher) towards supporting the company’s environmentally-focused initiatives.
These include not just the circularity and sustainability impact of the trade-in program itself, but broader initiatives such as innovation of more sustainable materials, circular product design, reducing freshwater consumption and reduction of packaging waste.
To learn more about lululemon’s environmental impact initiatives there’s a load of information on the Our Planet page of their website.
What happens to the gear when it’s been traded in?
Once pre-owned lululemon gear has been accepted for trade in, it gets refreshed and cleansed before becoming available in their dedicated Like New online resale shop.
This process includes new tags, labels and sustainable packaging, and the gear is categorized between being ‘Good as New’, or ‘Gently Used’, to help inform potential buyers about the items’ condition.
There are also notes added to the individual items’ product pages where specific comments have been made about the condition by the team responsible for the refreshing process.
Where to buy Like New lululemon gear
Visit the lululemon resale shop online to search and browse thousands of items of genuine women’s and men’s lululemon resale gear.
Of course, color and size availability depends on what has been traded in by other customers so there may not be availability in a full range of sizes for particular colors.
New items are added daily, including different styles, colors and sizes, which makes shopping on the site fun as you don’t know what may become available at any time!
Tips to score great deals in the lululemon Like New store
Because of the regular refresh of styles, colors and sizes, if you don’t see anything in your size or that you like when you first check out the store, here are my top tips for shopping the Like New store to find the best deals:
- check back regularly – set yourself a reminder for a good time each day (or every few days) to quickly check the online store for new inventory.
- Search and use filters such as style, material, condition, size and/or to narrow down your search criteria, or type in a style name such as ‘Align’ or ‘Define Jacket’ into the search box at the top of the page.
- The ‘mixed styles’ pages are a great place to look for rare hidden gems!
- Sign up for notifications so you get emailed when an item becomes available in a particular size or color.
Top picks from the lululemon Like New online store
As mentioned above, the inventory and availability is constantly being updated, but to give you an example of the deals you can find on pre-owned lululemon gear, here are a few items I have my eye on…
Resale pants and leggings – Align Leggings
- Regular price $98
- Like New price: $59
lululemon’s bestselling Align leggings are bestsellers for a reason and they’re some of my favorite everyday pants.
If you’re more into running-specific leggings, there are loads of those too! Visit my guide to the best lululemon leggings for running to learn about the different bestselling styles of running leggings to shop for.
Resale hoodies and sweatshirts – Define Jacket
- Regular price $118
- Like New price: $69
Like the popular Scuba Hoodie, the Define Jacket is another classic lululemon piece that is just as at home en-route to the gym as for layering with outercoats on colder weather.
Resale shorts and skirts – Pace Rival Skirt
- Regular price $78
- Like New price: $45
The Pace Rival skirt is a great alternative to running shorts when you want functional yet feminine running apparel to hit the trails in!
