Why being kind to yourself isn’t selfish

5 MIN READ

Why being kind to yourself isn’t selfish

By Poorna Bell

For award-winning journalist and author Poorna Bell, being kind to others comes naturally—but when it comes to being kind to herself? That’s where she struggles. Here, Poorna openly shares her thoughts on kindness and how over the years, she’s learned that putting yourself first is the most important—and least selfish thing you can do.

The default understanding of kindness is an act that you perform for another person—a gesture that’s often done quietly, without the expectation of thanks or reward. This means it’s hard to talk about your own acts of kindness without it sounding like a humblebrag. But for me, being kind to others is the easy part. It’s easy to see someone else’s need, whether it’s the person suffering in the cold without a winter coat, or someone who just needs solace or reassurance that everything will be okay (even if you don’t know that it will).

But kindness is a 360-degree behaviour—it isn’t just something we project or do outwardly, it’s also about how we treat ourselves. And when it comes to thinking about how kind I am to myself, I know that in the past, I’ve fallen short of where I should be. Kindness, for instance, is about the consideration of others, and there have been plenty of times when I haven’t considered myself. I haven’t thought about how much sleep I needed, whether I was over-committing to yet another social event when all I wanted to do was rest. And of course, the internal monologue of my inner critic.

We all have one, and this is the voice that tears you down piece by piece. It criticises whether you are clever enough, funny enough. It tells you that you aren’t working hard enough, that people will think you’re lazy. When you’ve achieved something, it likes to trick you into believing that you didn’t really earn it.

This voice is so fused into our bones, that sometimes we don’t even notice it’s there. It takes active work to root it out, and when you get into the pattern of being kind to yourself, you soon realise that it isn’t selfish, but in fact, one of the most vital things you can do.

A couple of months ago, I was in a situation where I had upset somebody. It started off a spiral of negative thoughts—from thinking I was the world’s worst person to believing that I was worthless and didn’t deserve friends. Then I realised that the person I was most unkind to was myself; I had to become actively aware of this so that I could start to change my behaviour.

Unknowingly, I had already started the work towards this a few years ago. I had previously thought it was normal to work all hours, and to frequently feel overwhelmed by it. Or to have weeks upon weeks of my social calendar booked out. But I realised that feeling permanently on the edge of burnout wasn’t normal, nor was it sustainable. I would have to make some changes.

The reason why I say kindness to yourself isn’t selfish, but can be some of the hardest work, is that a big part of it is setting boundaries and managing your time in a way that puts your needs and health first. If you are an altruistic person, or are used to looking after other people, it can feel as if your needs shouldn’t be prioritised. But I’ve experienced time and again, how if I am not kind to myself, I’m operating from a place that is tired and empty. And then, it makes me the least kind to others.

For me, that includes saying no to social events even if I really want to go to them. It means checking in with how I’m feeling physically and mentally and seeing what I need in that moment. Do I need more sleep? A walk in the park? Some time off work? As a freelancer, I am notoriously bad at giving myself days off, but it’s something I’ve had to mark in a calendar so that I catch it before it gets on top of me. I also journal my thoughts and feelings, and very often that will surface things I’ve hidden deep down. But also, I write the achievements I’m proud of in a book—it’s like a kindness to my future self, for when I doubt what I have done, and what I can do. If I feel overwhelmed, I give myself breaks off my phone by turning off my notifications, and telling a handful of loved ones ahead of time that if they need to contact me in an emergency, then to just call.

All of this means that I’m then in the best position to be kind to other people, and to give with an open and full heart. If taking the time for myself allows me to be able to do that, then it is the furthest thing away from being selfish, don’t you think?

Poorna Bell is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist, public speaker and competing powerlifter. She has also written two books: Chase the Rainbow and In Search of Silence – and her third is coming soon.

@PoornaBell

LAST UPDATED: 30 August 2024

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CONTENTS

• COLLECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
• DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL DATA
• RETENTION OF DATA
• DATA SHARING, ADS, & COMMUNICATION OPT-OUTS
• ADVERTISING AND ANALYTICS SERVICES PROVIDED BY OTHERS
• RETENTION OF PERSONAL DATA
• CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
• THIRD PARTY SITES
• YOUR CHOICES
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• CONTACT US

COLLECTION OF PERSONAL DATA

In this Privacy Policy, "personal data" means any informa`on relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (“Data Subject”). A Data Subject is defined as an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in par`cular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person”. The types of personal data we collect about you depend on your interactions with us and are described in more detail below. Please note, while our website is designed for a general audience, we will not knowingly collect data from any children under the age of 13 or sell products to children. If you are aged 13 or under, you are not permitted to use our Site or submit any data to us. If you are a parent or legal guardian and you believe that your child has provided us with personal data without your consent, please contact us at [email protected]

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WAYS THAT WE COLLECT PERSONAL DATA:

We want to ensure that we build an open and trustworthy relationship with all of our Guests, which is why we will only ever process your personal information if we have a lawful basis to do so. The lawful bases we rely on include the following:

• Contract or Services Fulfillment – where we need to process your personal data to fulfil a contractual arrangement or provide you the services that we have agreed with you.
• Consent – where you’ve provided explicit permission for us to process your personal data for a particular purpose.
• Legitimate Interests – where we rely on our interests as a reason to process your information, which we generally do so to provide you with the best Guest experience, products and services in the most appropriate way.
• Legal Obligation – where we have a legal or statutory obligation that requires us to process your personal data i.e. to investigate fraud or to notify you of certain things.

TYPES OF PERSONAL DATA THAT WE COLLECT:

• Full name;		• Payment card details
• Email address		• Hobbies
• Phone number		• Social media handle
• Post address		• Social media account details
• Billing address		• Order number
• Date of birth		• Purchase history
• Your preferences – such as style, size and colour of product

We may use any and all of the above types of personal data (above) for the reasons set out below. The above types of data may also be shared in accordance with the “DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL DATA” section below.

WHAT, HOW AND WHY WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA:

OUR WEBSITE AND YOUR PERSONAL DATA
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
When you place an order – we need to collect some data from you as part of the ordering process.	To enable us to deliver product to you and provide other guest Services to you.	We need certain detail in order to deliver product to you and fulfil our contractual obligations to you.
Your account – we need to collect some of your personal data to allow you to shop with us and create and account.	For you to set up an account with us, we need to collect profile data to do this.	There is no obligation to set up an account with us and it will always be done with your consent. We may also use your account details as part of ensuring the successful delivery of products and services to you and to fulfil our contractual obligations.
Proof of identity – we need to check who you are.	There might be a situation where we need to check who you are, e.g. when we need to confirm you’re a student to get student discount or to confirm it was you that placed an order.	To deliver the Services and products to you, we see this as a contractual obligation to you.
Browsing behaviour – we try to personalize your browsing experience with us .	This means we can get the products that we think you’ll love to you faster.	It is important for us to continue looking at how we can improve and make your experience with us more enjoyable – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Site navigations – we know our site best and we want to make sure you’re getting to the right pages to get the product you want. We use your data to analyse your movements across our site and to send you to the right place.	We want you to get the products that you want as quickly as possible.	It is important to us that you get the most seamless shopping experience that you can with us – it is in our legitimate interest and yours (as you can see the product you want).
Guest improvement – we may need to use information about you to improve product, services and customer experience. This might include working with trusted third parties to develop new content, products or services.	We want to ensure we’re showing and promoting the most relevant products to all of our Guests.	It is important for us to continue looking at how we can improve and make your experience with us more enjoyable – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Important updates and service messaging – we might need to contact you to let you know about account and/or service updates, i.e. to let you know there has been updates to our T&Cs.	We need to keep you informed or any changes to our Services or any of our other contractual terms that we made with you.	To deliver the Services and products to you, we see this as a contractual obligation to you.
YOUR BODY SIZE AND SHAPE (IF YOU CHOOSE TO TELL US THIS – WHICH WILL ALWAYS BE WITH YOUR CONSENT)
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
Product recommendations – we might use a third party to help make recommendations about product, including sizing recommendations.	To try and ensure that you order the right size, fit and type of product, we sometimes use information provided by and to third parties to help improve our products and services.	Our sizing tools are run by third parties in accordance with their own privacy policy. Use is an optional part of the purchase process so it done only with your consent. Our use of other third party tools helps us to provide you with information about products you might like in accordance with your and our legitimate interests.
Product selection quiz – we might use a third party to provide you with a quiz which, when answered, allows us to recommend the best product for what you want and need.	We know our product best, and we want to help you navigate what would be best for you based on your preferences!	It is important for us to show you things we think you will like and tailor these to your needs. It is also important for us to know your preferences so that we can make it the best possible Guest experience – it is in our legitimate interest to provide you with the best service we can. Participation is always with your consent.
YOUR ORDER AND PAYMENT INFORMATION
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
Take payment and give refunds – we collect transaction information related to the use of our services or your purchases with us. This includes delivery information, amount charged, payment method, credit card information, billing, or shipping information.	When you place and order with us, we work with third-party payment processors to collect and process your payment information. We also need this information to process any refunds that you request from us.	To ensure the successful delivery of services and products to you as part of our contractual obligation to you.
Delivery of your Order and delivery updates – we need to know who you are and where you live to send you your products. We share your personal information with third party shipping providers who deliver the products to you on our behalf.	If we don’t know where you live, we can’t send you the product.	To ensure the successful delivery of services and products to you as part of our contractual obligation to you.
Financial records – we need to keep a record of any financial transactions you make with us.	We need to know what you have paid for (which is useful for us to deal with issues like returns in the right way) and to protect ourselves from fraud.	We have a legal obligation to do this, for example, under Anti-Money Laundering rules.
Purchase analytics – we may analyse how frequently you shop with us, what you have bought, searched for, returned and kept to wear as this helps us to understand what you like.	We need this information to understand how we can keep making the products you love and why you keep coming back for more.	It is important for us to know your preferences so that we can make it the best possible Guest experience – it is in our legitimate interest to provide you with the best service we can.
YOUR CONTACT HISTORY WITH US
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
Guest Support – when we need to provide support to you as our Guest, we may need to collect certain data (including order number and purchase history). Sometimes, we’ll record our calls with you too.	When you contact our Guest Education Centre, we want to be able to respond to your concern in the right and most relevant way to you.	To ensure the successful delivery of services and products to you as part of our contractual obligation to you. We may also need to take steps as part of our legal obligation to protect our educators.
Complaints – when you make a complaint and/or raising a legal concern, we need to collect and use your data to respond to it.	We want to respond to your concerns as quickly and in the best way as we possibly can. We also want to use your concerns to improve the services and support that we provide to you and other Guests.	To provide you with the opportunity to raise an issue and respond to it, we see this as a contractual obligation to you. We also have a legal obligation to do this and it's important for us to do as a business.
Your data rights – when you submit a request that relates to your rights under data protection laws, we need to use your information to respond.	You have rights under data protection laws (which we’ve set out below under this Privacy Policy) which we need to respect and adhere to.	We have a legal obligation to do this under EU and UK GPDR and it's important for us to do as a business.
PURCHASE HISTORY AND SAVED ITEMS IN YOUR BASKET
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
“Back in Stock” emails – we may send you an email to let you know that the product you’re keeping an eye on is back in stock.	We need to let you know when the product you want is back in stock for you to purchase.	Chances are, you’re keen to get your hands on something that we’re currently out of stock of and you want us to tell you when its back, so this will be done with your consent.
“Left in Basket” emails - we may send you an email to let you know that you’ve forgotten about something in your basket that you might still want to buy.	We want to remind you of the products that you put in your basket in case you want to buy them (but got distracted).	Chances are, you’re keen to get your hands on something but for some reason at the time decided not to click buy, so this is in your and our legitimate interest.
Returns – we want to ensure that we handle returns in accordance with our T&Cs and provide customer service and support.	We need to ensure we can contact you to assist and receive any products that you want to return back to us.	To ensure the successful delivery of services and products to you as part of our contractual obligation to you.
Shopping history – we might analyse what you have bought, searched for, or returned.	This helps us to truly understand what you like as a Guest and consider what products our Guests collectively love the most.	It is important for us to show you things we think you will like – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Personalising your shopping experience – we try to provide recommendations based on your style, budget and personal preference by analysing your order history.	We do this so that we can ensure that we are giving you what you want and provide you with the best possible Guest experience.	It is important for us to show you things we think you will like – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Affiliate links – we may use your personal data to match your orders to links from affiliates who connected you to us, or when they were promoting a product when you clicked on their site. We share purchase history with them too so that they can track when they’ve successfully sent you to us.	Sometimes we need help from our friends to connect you with us – we use a number of third parties who promote our products on their sites.	It's important to us that word gets out how great our products are – which can include through affiliates and other sources – its in our legitimate interests.
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR PHONE, LAPTOP, AND HOW YOU USE OUR WEBSITE (AND ANY APPS)
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
Remembering you – we might use your personal information to identify you when you visit our website.	We keep track of who you are because we believe, if we can remember you, we can give you the best possible experience when you come back to visit again.	It is important that provide you with the best possible online experience. It’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Default settings – we are always trying to improve our website and we might set default options for you (such as language and currency).	This is to make it easier for you to use and navigate our website and to get your hands on those lululemon products that you want!	It is important that provide you with the best possible online experience. It’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Perpetual login – we want to provide you with the opportunity to stay logged in without having to sign in each time.	We want your user journey to be as seamless and efficient as possible (and who can actually remember those incredibly long passwords!) so we may offer you the option to stay logged in (you can always change your mind and revoke this setting).	It is important that we provide you with the best possible online experience. It’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Product info – we might send you information about our products and services (including ones you haven’t bought…yet).	We want to make sure you stay informed about all of our products and services – including those that are new and exciting.	It is important for us to show you things we think you will like – it’s in your and our legitimate interests. In some cases, we may provide direct marketing with your consent.
Web ads – we might show you lululemon adverts as you browse the web.	We use your cookies to provide you with content, even when you’re not on our site. This is done in accordance with our Cookies Policy where we collect your consent.	It is important for us to show you things we think you will like – it’s in your and our legitimate interests. We also obtain your express consent to our Cookies Policy.
Third party collection – We may use a third party service provider to collect data on our behalf across the internet and sometimes our website.	We love to know what you’re saying about us on other sites (and not just to us!). Also, it’s really helpful for us to know how we compare to other brands and your experience with them.	It is important for us to continue looking at how we can improve – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Guest behaviours – we may monitor and analyse your behaviour when you’re on our website.	We want to see what you’re buying, when you’re buying it and why you might leave something in your cart!	It is important for us to continue looking at how we can improve – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
MARKETING
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
Marketing – when you contact us through any channel (including online, in-store), we’ll ask you whether you want to opt in or out of marketing communications. If you do opt-in, we record this on your Guest profile. These marketing communications may contain tracking pixels that help us monitor how you’ve interacted with that particular communication.	If you’ve opted in to receive our marketing, we’ll use your personal data to tell you about lululemon products, promotions, competitions and offers that we think you might be interested in. These notifications will be sent to you online (i.e. by email, by social media, search engine as banners, push notifications or adverts).	We will only send marketing communications to you with your consent; and you can opt out at any time. It may also be legitimate for us to send marketing communications to you when you have expressed an interest in our goods or services.
Text marketing - When you connect with us (online, in-store, at an event), we might ask you to if you want to receive texts from us. We use a trusted third party to do this for us and they will store the information that you provide (inc. your number) and be able to track when you read a text message.	If you’ve opted in to receive our marketing, we’ll use your personal data to tell you about lululemon products, promotions, competitions and offers that we think you might be interested in! We might even use the information that we’ve automatically collected from your use of our site to tailor our texts to you.	We will only send marketing communications to you with your consent; and you can opt out at any time. It may also be legitimate for us to send marketing communications to you when you have expressed an interest in our goods or services.
Adverts – we may show you, or share your personal data with a third party to show you, banner adverts of our products on social media platforms.	We share your information with the third parties because they have the capabilities to notify you of things we think you’ll be interested in via social media feeds.	It is important for us to show you things we think you will like – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
INFORMATION FROM SOCIAL MEDIA OR OTHER ACCOUNTS YOU LINK TO US
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
Linked accounts – we may allow you to use your Social Media accounts to login to our site, simply and easily without having to create a specific account. For us to do this, it involves sharing your personal data linked to that account with us.	We want to make things as easy and seamless for you as possible because we know you can’t wait to get your hands on our products.	It is important for us to continue looking at how we can improve and make your experience with us more enjoyable – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
Information sharing – we might use your personal data to analyse how you like to and how you might want to share your lululemon products (and your thoughts on them) with your friends.	We want to know how we can make shouting about our amazing products easier for you and its good to know how you prefer to do this and where.	It is important for us to continue looking at how we can improve and make your experience with us more enjoyable – it’s in your and our legitimate interests. Ultimately, it’s up to you if you want to share this with us.
When you tag us – we may want to analyse your social media profile and connect it with your Guest profile.	We want to ensure we’re staying in the know about what you think, what you’re wearing and how you like to connect with us.	It is important for us to continue looking at how we can improve and make your experience with us enjoyable – it’s in your and our legitimate interests.
COMMENTS YOU POST ABOUT LULULEMON, TAGGING US OR POSTING PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
Monitor our Guests views or opinions – we might respond, repost or reach out to you privately about something you’ve written on a public platform.	We may respond to you or react to something you’ve posted on a public platform, particularly if you are unhappy or if it’s something we can improve.	It is important for us to know how you feel about us – it’s in your and our legitimate interests. We also want to make sure we’re keeping a safe environment for all.
Social tags - If you tag lululemon or post to our pages, we may use your photo and/or video (with or without sound), on our site or Social Media pages.	We want to be able to shout about and share all of the looks our Guests are wearing!	It is important for us to continue looking at how we can improve and make your experience with us more enjoyable – it’s in your and our legitimate interests. Ultimately, it’s up to you if you tag us in your posts.
Fraud investigations - we use public sources of information to help us investigate fraudulent activity.	We need to ensure we’re preventing, checking, and investigating fraud against you or lululemon.	It’s not ideal, but it is in our legitimate interest to protect you and us, our services and stop any potentially fraudulent activity. Also, we have a legal obligation under Anti Money Laundering Regulations in the UK & EU to do this too.
SURVEYS, FEEDBACK, COMPETITIONS & EVENTS
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
Asking for feedback & reviews – we reach out to you to get your feedback. We may also invite you to leave a review on the items that you have bought from us as we love to hear from you (good or bad!).	We ask for feedback from our Guests on the products, how you’re enjoying them and how you feel we are doing as a brand. Sometimes, we use a third party to do this and your data will be shared with them when we do so.	For consumer insight surveys, it’s your choice if you want to provide us with feedback (which we love to hear!) so this will be done with your consent. For other kinds of feedback such as our customer service surveys, product reviews, or feedback requests, it's in both of our legitimate interests for us to send you these so that we can improve our services and products for you.
Refer a friend - We use a third-party provider to allow you to participate in our refer a friend programme, should you wish to do so.	We want to give you the opportunity to benefit from offers and promotions as a result of you helping to grow our community here at lululemon.	Your data, and your friend’s data, will be processed in line with the third party’s privacy policy, which we will highlight to you at the time of making your referral.
Competition – we may contact you to let you know we’re running a competition or prize draw.	We want all of our Guests to have the opportunity to take part in our competitions.	If you opted in to receive marketing, we’re doing this with your consent.
Competition – we will contact you via the method set out in the relevant Terms and Conditions if you have been selected as a winner.	We need to let you know if you do/don’t meet the eligibility criteria and ultimately if you win – and you’ll definitely want to know too!	If you chose to take part in a competition/prize draw, we treat this as an important contractual commitment to you.
Discount codes and promotional offerings – we may send you a discount code to use when you next shop with us.	We want to ensure we give back to our Guests.	We share these with you so that you can enjoy the perks of being a valued Guest and to say thanks. We’ll only do this with your consent.
Managing attendance at events - we need to contact you in relation to events.	So that you can attend one of our amazing events we have invited you to and administer the event coordination, such as event communications.	To deliver the services and to provide you with the opportunity to attend events, we see this as a contractual obligation to you in accordance with the terms and conditions of the event.
IN-STORE
What we do and how we do it	Why we do it	Why we need to do it
CCTV – our lululemon stores all operate CCTV which may capture you in the footage.	This means we can ensure the safety of both Guests and Educators who are on our premises. We may also use the CCTV for market research purposes so we can make sure our stores are set out as nicely as possible for you to enjoy your experience while you’re with us!	We have a legal obligation to keep our Guest Educators safe and ensure a secure working environment. It's also in our interests to keep Guests safe too! If and when we use CCTV for market research, this is in our best interests to ensure we’re giving our Guests the best experience we can.
Processing payment at the till – we may ask you for information to provide you with e-receipt or to assist in completing the transaction.	We need this information to be able to send you a paperless receipt (and in turn do our bit to help the environment!). This will allow you to keep all of your bills in one place and not worry about losing the receipt.	You are under no obligation to receive a paperless receipt, so this will be with your consent.
Event imagery – we might use video recordings, photographic images, recordings of live events/webinars or other online events (including both images and sound) on our Site or Social Media.	We want to shout about the fun events we get to run and be a part of! We may take, use and publish imagery on our social media pages or communication channels.	We’ll only do this with your consent.
In-store WiFi – We have WiFi access points in some of our stores to keep you online even while shopping with us! We receive aggregate reports regarding store traffic that relies in part of information collected from the WiFi access points to track traffic patterns in our stores.	Where such technology is used, we will provide a prominent notice at the location. If you wish to exclude your device from such in-store mobile analytics, you can opt out at any time by turning off WiFi on your device.	We’ll only do this with your consent.

DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL DATA

lululemon does not sell your personal data to any third party. We do, however, share personal data with a select number of trusted third parties to enable us to provide you with our products and services, to send marketing information and to improve our business (for both you and us) for the purposes described below.

WHO WE SHARE IT WITH	WHY WE’RE SHARING IT
Affiliates and Subsidiaries	We disclose your personal data with our holding company, subsidiaries, and affiliates, including lululemon athletica inc. lululemon usa inc. and lululemon athletica canada inc., for the purposes described in the “WAYS WE COLLECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA” section above.
Service Providers	We disclose personal data with third parties or individuals we hire or work with that perform services on our behalf, including customer support, web hosting, information technology, payment processing, financing, product fulfilment, fraud control, marketing and database management, direct mail and email distribution, events, contest, sweepstakes and promotion administration, music integration, extended warranty services, and advertising and analytics services. These service providers have access to personal data needed to perform their services but may not use it for other purposes. Since our service providers are located around the world, please note that these disclosures involve cross-border transfers of your personal data as described in the “International Data Transfers” section below.
In Connection with Corporate Transactions	Personal data may be disclosed or transferred as part of, or during negotiations of any purchase, sale, lease, merger, amalgamation, or any other type of acquisition, disposal, securitisation or financing involving lululemon.
Professional Advisors	We disclose personal data with our legal, financial, insurance, and other advisors in connection with the kinds of corporate transactions described above or in connection with the management of all or part of lululemon’s business or operations.
Law Enforcement Authorities and Individuals Involved in Legal Proceedings	We disclose personal data when we believe doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with applicable law or legal process (including an enforceable request from authorities), to respond to claims (including inquiries by you in connection with your purchases from lululemon), enforce or apply our Terms of Use or to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of lululemon, our users, employees, the public, or others.
Other Users of the Services or the Public	When you use lululemon Studio, we may display your username such that other users may see your username and contact you. For example, if you choose to add other users as friends or participate in face-offs, your video, profile data, and fitness and performance data may be visible to these other users and the other users may be able to comment on your workouts (with the comments becoming part of your lululemon Studio profile). Also, if you choose to activate the camera on your MIRROR device during a workout, other users may be able to see your video while the workout is occurring or during future, on-demand versions of the workout. We do not control how other users or third parties use any personal data that you make available to them. Please be aware that any information you post publicly can be cached, copied, screen captured, or stored elsewhere by others (e.g., search engines) before you have a chance to edit or remove it.
With Your Consent or at Your Direction	We disclose personal data, such as profile data and communications data with third parties when we have your consent or direction to do so. For example, if you decide to participate in certain interactive areas or features of our events or Services, such as creating a public profile and posting your goals, you consent to the disclosure of this information to other users of our Services. We may also disclose your personal data with third parties, such as personal trainers, fitness studios, and providers of online booking tools, when you intentionally direct us to do so or when you use our Services to intentionally interact with third parties.
Aggregated, Anonymized or De-identified Data	We may also disclose aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information, which cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
Third Party Advertising partners	We may share personal data we collect, including about your usage of the applications and services, with our advertising partners so that they can better target and/ or personalize advertisements displayed within any lululemon service, on another website or any application used by you. Some of our third-party advertising partners act either as joint controllers of your personal data along with lululemon or as independent data controllers, and thus will handle shared data under the terms of their own privacy policies. This means that we provide you with information in this privacy policy, but you should contact of the relevant third party if you want to exercise your data protection rights relating to the data that has been shared. Further information, including how the third party enables you to exercise your data protection rights, and subsequently processes your information, can be found in that third party’s privacy policy. Our third party partners currently include: Meta: Joint Controller: https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/ Teads: Joint Controller: https://privacy-policy.teads.com/ Criteo: Joint Controller: https://www.criteo.com/privacy/ eShop World (“ESW”): Joint Controller: https://esw.com/privacy-policy/ Pinterest: Joint Controller: https://policy.pinterest.com/en/privacy-policy TikTok: Joint Controller: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/eea/privacy-policy/en Google: Joint Controller: https://policies.google.com/privacy Snapchat: Joint Controller: https://values.snap.com/en-GB/privacy/privacy-policy AWIN: Joint Controller: https://www.awin.com/gb/privacy

If want to find out more about the third parties we may share personal data with, or how to find out more on how they will use your data, please contact us at the details provided in the “Contact Us” section below.

RETENTION OF DATA: HOW LONG DO WE STORE YOUR DATA AND WHERE?

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL DATA?
We have physical, technical and administrative measures in place to help protect personal data from loss, unauthorised access or processing, modification, disclosure, damage, alteration, destruction or other misuse.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure or private. You understand that any messages or information you send to our websites may be read or intercepted by others. If you have any questions about the security of personal data collected by lululemon contact us HERE.

HOW LONG DO WE KEEP IT FOR?
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to achieve the purpose for which such personal data was collected, unless a different retention period is required under applicable law. We also retain personal data for as long as you have your account, or as long as is needed to be able to provide the services or products to you, or (in the case of any contact you may have with our Guest Education Centre) for as long as is necessary to provide support-related reporting and trend analysis.

If reasonably necessary or required to meet legal or regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and abuse, or enforce our terms and conditions, lululemon may also keep personal data as required, after an account is closed or is no longer necessary to provide services.

Unless otherwise required by applicable law, lululemon will take reasonable steps to destroy or permanently de-identify personal data we hold if such personal data is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected.

INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

BETWEEN LULULEMON COMPANIES:

As lululemon is a global business with operations and subsidiaries both inside and outside of the UK and EEA, the personal data that we collect may be transferred to and stored or otherwise processed by our holding company, corporate affiliates, subsidiaries, and service providers outside of the UK, Switzerland and the EEA, including (but not limited to) in the United States, Canada or Australia. For a copy of the relevant transfer mechanism that we use to transfer your data (i.e. EU Standard Contractual Clauses), please contact us at [email protected].

TO THIRD PARTIES:
We also transfer personal data to service providers that process personal data for us in the United States, Canada and other locations (as an example, Amazon Web Services process information for us in various data center locations, including those listed at: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/).

While in another jurisdiction for processing, your personal data may be accessed by the courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities of that jurisdiction. These jurisdictions may not provide levels of data protection that are equivalent to those of your home jurisdiction and may not be considered by the European Commission to offer adequate protections for personal data.

HOW WE TRY TO PROTECT YOUR DATA SO FAR AS POSSIBLE:
We ensure, with the signature of Standard Contractual Clauses adopted by the European Commission, that personal data transferred outside the UK, EEA and Switzerland is maintained with at least the same level of security and protection for the transfer of personal data that is required under applicable law. Where the recipient is located outside the UK, EEA, or Switzerland in a country without an Adequacy Decision, we implement appropriate security safeguards, such as executing Controller to Processor or Controller to Controller EU Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the EU Commission, to ensure adequate security of the data being transferred. You may request a copy of these Standard Contractual Clauses that we use to facilitate this transfer of data by contacting us at [email protected].

DATA SHARING, ADS, & COMMUNICATION OPT-OUTS:

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Upon your consent, we’ll send you marketing messages to keep you aware of what we’re up to and to help you see and find our products and services.

You may opt out of receiving promotional communications from us at any time by following the instructions in those communications or by logging into your online account and changing your communications preferences. In addition, whilst you have the right to withdraw at any time, this does not affect the lawfulness of our processing of your personal data prior to the date that you withdrew your consent.

If you let us know that you don’t want to receive marketing messages, it might take a few days for all our systems to be updated, so it is possible that you still get communications from us while we process your request.

Please note that if you opt out, we will still send you non-promotional communications and you will still continue to receive service communications, such as those about your account or our ongoing business relations like order updates. We need to do this to comply with our contractual commitments with you and sometimes the law.

LOCATION DATA
When you first launch any of our mobile applications that collect precise location information, you will be asked to consent to the application’s collection of this information.
If you initially consent to our collection of this location information, you can subsequently stop the collection of this information at any time by changing the preferences on your mobile device. If you do this, our mobile applications, or certain features thereof, may no longer function properly.

MOBILE PUSH NOTIFICATIONS/ALERTS
With your consent, we may send promotional and non-promotional push notifications or alerts to your mobile device. You can deactivate these messages at any time by changing the notification settings on your mobile device.

COOKIES AND SIMILAR TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
Like many websites, lululemon uses cookies to analyze visits to our websites and emails and help us improve our website, services and marketing campaigns. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default.

If you prefer, you can usually set your browser to remove or reject cookies. Please follow your browser’s process for doing so. Please note that if you choose to remove or reject cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of our websites.

We may also allow others to provide analytics services and serve advertisements on our behalf across the web and in mobile applications. These entities may use cookies, pixels, web beacons, device identifiers, and other tracking technologies which collect information about your use of the Services and other websites and applications. This information may be used by lululemon and others to, among other things, analyse and track data, determine the popularity of certain content, deliver advertising and content targeted to your interest on our Services and other websites, and better understand your online activity.

For more information about interest-based ads, or to opt out of having information about your use of the Services used to show ads that are targeted to your interests on other sites and services, please visit WWW.ABOUTADS.INFO/CHOICES.

For advertisements on any third-party platforms, please refer to the particular third-party platform’s privacy policy to learn more about your choices.

YOUR DATA RIGHTS

KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS
Depending on where you reside, you may have the following legal rights relating to your personal data. We’ve set some of these out below and ways that you can exercise them.

• A right to obtain information – You have the right to request information about how we process your personal data.
• A right of access – You have the right to request access to, or a copy of, the personal data we hold and process about you.
• A right of rectification – You have the right to request that we correct or supplement inaccurate or incomplete personal data we process about you. We might ask for evidence from you to show that it is inaccurate.
• A right of erasure – You have the right to request that we delete personal data about you. Please note, we will keep a note of your name linked to your account.
• A right to restriction of processing – You have the right to request that we restrict processing of your personal data, so that we can store such data but not otherwise process it. If you do exercise this right, please note that it won’t prevent us from processing any now information you provide for us after your request!
• A right to data portability – In certain circumstances, you have the right to request that we provide the personal data which you provided to us in a structured, commonly and machine-readable format, and you have the right to transmit used, and machine-readable format, and you have the right to transmit such data to another controller without hindrance from lululemon.
• A right to object to processing – You have the right to request that we stop processing personal data about you.
• A right to revoke your consent – When our processing is based on your consent, you have the right to revoke such consent at any time. For example, when your personal data is processed for email marketing purposes, you have the right to object to such processing at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of such marketing communications.
• The right to file a complaint – whilst we always want to encourage you to get in contact with us first to try and resolve your concerns, you have the right to file a complaint regarding our data protection practices with a supervisory authority.
- • If you’re in the UK, you can contact the Information Commissioners Office. Their details can be found at: https://ico.org.uk/
- • If you’re in the EEA, you can contact your country’s supervisory authority. A list of members and their details can be found at: https://www.edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en

EXERCISING YOUR RIGHTS
You can submit your data subject requests via our PRIVACY PORTAL or by getting in touch with us via the contact information provided in the “Contact Us” section below.

Upon submission, we may ask you to verify your identity and request type before taking further action on your request. If an authorized agent submits a request on your behalf, please be aware that we may need to contact you to verify your identity and your use of an agent to protect the security of your personal data.

We will not discriminate against you if you choose to exercise your rights.

EXCEPTIONS TO YOUR RIGHTS:
In certain scenarios, your rights set out above may be limited, such as if you ask us to delete information which we are required to hold by law, or is we have a compelling reason to keep it. In the event that we do keep your data, then we will let you know and then only use your information for those limited circumstances. Please be aware that you may be unable to use our sites or access our services if you want us to stop processing your personal data.

THIRD PARTY SITES

Please note that our websites contain links to third-party websites that are not controlled or operated by lululemon. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that lululemon does not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please review these policies before you disclose any personal data when visiting such third-party websites.

We allow our e-commerce partner, U.S. Direct E-Commerce Limited (trading as “ESW”), to directly collect personal information from you for the purposes of facilitating ordering and shipping internationally. If you are shipping to a country supported by ESW, you will navigate away from our Services to a co-branded checkout experience. Please review ESW’s privacy policy. for more information on ESW’s data processing practices.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR AMBASSADORS

If you are a lululemon ambassador, this section also applies to you. We may collect additional identifiers, such as your passport number and social security number, user-generated content such as product reviews, professional or employment-related information, and other information you provide to us.

We may also collect information about your activity on our intranet or other collaboration platforms via log files, cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies. We may collect and use your personal data to manage the ambassador program, such as to conduct pre-participation checks or references, process and payments, and conduct performance reviews. We may disclose your personal data with other users of the Services or the public.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions or enquiries relating to our privacy practices or procedures, you may write to the Privacy Officer via email at [email protected]. You may also direct your questions or comments about this Privacy Policy or our data protection practices to our Privacy Portal.

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Poorna Bell is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist, public speaker and competing powerlifter. She has also written two books: Chase the Rainbow and In Search of Silence – and her third is coming soon.