Another Israeli customer of the Alo Yoga website received a package without the item she ordered, containing instead a torn order slip inside bearing hateful anti-Israel messages. On Tuesday, ynet reported that another customer received a package filled with paper and plastic, with anti-Israel slogans handwritten on the order slip.
Both shipments were purchased through the U.S.-based international website of the fashion brand, aloyoga.com, and were physically shipped from Alo Yoga Canada. It appears, at least initially, that someone there may be tampering with lightweight packages addressed to Israel. The matter is still under review.
The second customer received her order with the messages “Free Palestine,” “Victory to Hamas,” “From the river to the sea” and “Death, death to the IDF” handwritten on the printed order slip. The handwriting appears similar to that on the order slip received by the first customer who complained Tuesday. She received similar messages, including “Free Palestine” and “Hamas will win,” alongside the inverted red triangle symbol used to mark IDF soldiers as targets, and “Death, death to the IDF.”
“This month there was a very large batch of orders from the international website because they had a 30% off sale,” the complainant said. “The courier brought me the package yesterday at around 11:30 a.m. I ordered 1,900 shekels’ worth of items, but yesterday I was supposed to receive a visor I bought for 147 shekels, meaning a small package, and the shipment really did feel airy. I opened the package and it looked like it had been torn from the inside and crumpled. The courier was still standing at the door, and I said to him, ‘What is this? It’s empty.’ He came in and we both checked, and then we both suddenly noticed the delivery note with all kinds of things written against Israel. We were both in shock. He is a DHL courier, and he sent a message to his company.
“I contacted Alo Yoga, and the moment I sent a photo, the chat closed. But I am very persistent, so I opened another chat, and another chat, and another chat, until the bot transferred me to a representative. I started corresponding with her. I told her, ‘This is incitement, this person knows my address,’ and she said, ‘I’m very sorry, I’m transferring this to the department that handles this.’ I gave her my email. Now the ball is in Alo Yoga’s court. They need to get back to me and say what they are going to do," the customer asserted.
“I told my cousin about it, and she asked me whether I was the complainant from the article. I didn’t understand what she was talking about. That was how I found out it had happened to someone else. By the way, the next day, the larger package I had ordered arrived properly,” she said.
Is an Alo Yoga Canada employee tampering with packages addressed to Israel?
On Tuesday, ynet reported the story of a customer who bought headbands from aloyoga.com for 213 shekels, including shipping to Israel. Two weeks later, she received an empty package with hate-filled messages.
“It felt too airy, but I thought it was a lightweight order anyway," she told ynet. "I opened it, and there was nothing I had ordered. Instead, there was only garbage inside — torn cardboard and clear bags used to wrap clothes. I looked more carefully, thinking maybe it was hidden at the bottom, since these were thin headbands — but there was nothing. Then I reached the sheet lying at the bottom of the package and saw the hateful messages. I was in shock. This is really something against our country — a familiar situation, but when it reaches you like this, it is very difficult. They simply saw an address in Israel and that was enough for them.”.”
Could someone in international mail have opened the package on the way to Israel, stolen the products and written the hateful message?
“I thought about that too. Maybe it didn’t happen at the company itself, but en route. But the bag was sealed. In other words, the shipment arrived intact, and I opened the perforated line of the package, so it would appear that this had to have happened where it was packed — at the company. All the junk inside, the cardboard, the bags, everything was from Alo Yoga.”
And did you contact customer service?
“I did. They have a chat there, which is basically AI, and the moment I uploaded the photo of the package, the chat blocked me. It wrote that the chat had closed. I don’t know whether it was because the photo was not recognized by the AI or for another reason, and I don’t want to guess. So I contacted them by email, and they respond after one business day, so I haven’t received a response yet. It happened in the morning, and for them it was the middle of the night.”
Alo Yoga is an international fashion brand for yoga apparel and activewear that originated in California and brands itself as a wellness and lifestyle company. It is highly popular worldwide, especially in Israel, where it has been very successful. Israelis also order from abroad because of price differences. There is currently a 30% discount sale in Israel and globally.
Alo’s Israeli franchisee is 911 Fashion, owned by Uri Reiss, Gidi Federman and Green Lantern Fund. The franchisee has no connection to the incident.
The Israeli franchisee said in response: “We are very sorry about the incident. The matter has been referred for review by the global headquarters, which manages the brand’s international website in Los Angeles. Due to the time difference, no response has yet been received.”