Now this might sound silly, but I sometimes find myself struggling with the fashion choices of yoga that are available now. Is high end yoga gear worth the premium, either in performance or in the sustainability of the product? Which, if any, of the popular yoga brands are paying a fair wage to the people that make their clothes, or are manufacturing in an environmentally sustainable manner, or are giving back? Is it contradictory to yogic philosophy to buy your yoga clothes (or any clothes for that matter) at a "big box" store? Who has time to find the answers to all these questions? I don't always feel that I do, but still I ask them. I try to be a good yogi and a responsible dweller on our planet, so sometimes I start thinking about these things.
With the increasing popularity of yoga, many companies are capitalizing on this growing segment of the greater health and wellness industry. This includes companies like Gaiam, founded with the intention of providing products that promote healthy lifestyles, environmental responsibility, and economic and social sustainability. It also includes large national and international corporations for whom adding a line of yoga clothes is purely a business decision with the intention of generating a profit from a product that is in demand.