Alo Yoga built its brand on clean aesthetics, Instagram buzz, and high-end activewear that blended studio performance with street style. It became a go-to for influencers and everyday fitness lovers alike, especially for those who wanted leggings that looked as good as they felt.
But over the past year, something has changed. Across Reddit, TikTok, and review sites, loyal Alo shoppers are calling out the brand for declining quality and disappointing customer service. Once-rabid fans are now returning items, leaving low ratings, and moving on to other brands.
The complaints are surprisingly consistent: items pilling after a few wears, seams coming undone, fabric losing shape. It’s a shift that has customers wondering what happened to the brand they once trusted.
Related: Lululemon fighting to keep the ‘it-girl’ title away from competition
One Reddit user summed it up: “I used to love everything Alo made. Now I won’t even risk buying unless it’s on sale — and even then, I brace myself to be disappointed.”
A shift in quality, customer trust
On the brand’s own subreddit, r/aloyoga, users regularly post photos of damaged or poorly made items. Threads with titles like “Why has the quality tanked?” and “Pilled after one wear” are common and growing in visibility. Some users even refer to Alo as “fast fashion with luxury pricing.”
A few themes have emerged: leggings thinning over time, visible thread unraveling, and garments arriving with defects. One user noted that the same pair of leggings they repurchased felt “totally different” in material and fit, despite being the same product name.
Image source: Koerner/Getty Images Alo Yoga
I’ve experienced this, too. While I still love the look of my Muse sets, I couldn’t help but notice how even after one wash, they felt completely different — not nearly as soft or cozy. And that trend only continued with each additional wash. By contrast, when I wash my Vuori sweatpants, they seem to become softer and softer. To me as a consumer, that says a lot about quality and how a brand makes you feel over time.
Alo customer service has also become a flashpoint. Complaints range from slow responses to rigid return policies, even when items are faulty. “Their customer service used to be amazing,” one shopper wrote. “Now it feels like they’re just trying to run out the clock.”
As pointed out in a video review by Shift Fashion Group, “Alo is essentially the same company as Bella + Canvas, which is a blanks company.” A blanks company manufactures unbranded apparel — basic pieces like T-shirts, hoodies, and sweatpants— that are often sold wholesale and customized or rebranded by other retailers. This detail may come as a surprise to many Alo customers who associate the brand with high-end, exclusive designs.
While every brand faces quality control issues at scale, what makes this different is Alo’s premium price point and luxury positioning. Many of its most popular leggings cost $128 or more — making them a considered purchase, not an impulse buy. When that investment doesn’t deliver, shoppers feel burned.
When brand loyalty starts to fade
As of now, Alo Yoga has not issued any public statement addressing the growing wave of complaints. I reached out to the brand for comment about these concerns but have not yet received a response. The brand continues to promote new collections and celebrity endorsements — but critics say that gloss doesn’t hide the fact that something feels off.
Meanwhile, competitors like Lululemon and Vuori, and even lower-priced options like CRZ Yoga on Amazon, are gaining ground with quality-focused messaging, community engagement, and consistent customer satisfaction.
Alo still has a loyal following, and its minimalist branding and aspirational lifestyle content continue to draw attention. But if it doesn’t course-correct, the brand risks losing the very audience that helped it rise in the first place — one yoga set at a time.
