The world-famous French sports apparel brand Lacoste, known for their upscale polo shirts with the iconic crocodile logo, raised more than $328,000 for conservation efforts with a promotional line of shirts that raised awareness of endangered species.
According to SmallJoys.tv:
“Lacoste announced, “the crocodile is leaving its iconic spot to 10 threatened species through a partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature.”
The logo has never been replaced by another animal since 1936 when Robert George invented the logo. The crocodile is a reference to founder René Lacoste’s nickname “the alligator” which references his performance on the tennis court.”
The limited edition items replaced the popular crocodile logo with various endangered species. The ten new logos depicted ten different endangered species.
Moreover, all designs were produced in a limited number, correlating with the estimated population size of each species. For instance, there were 350 polos with the Sumatran Tiger logo, as it is estimated that there are only 350 such animals on the planet.
Here are the ten species involved in this campaign, and the number of polo shirts that were produced:
- Vaquita (Gulf of California porpoise): 30
- Burmese roofed turtle: 40
- Northern sportive lemur: 50
- Javan rhino: 67
- Cao-vit gibbon (ape): 150
- Kakapo (parrot): 157
- California condor: 231
- Saola (herbivore): 250
- Sumatran tiger: 350
- Anegada ground iguana: 450
The decision of the fashion giant quickly became a hit. According to the Independent:
“News of the campaign has proved hugely popular on social media, with fans praising Lacoste for their conservational efforts and setting their sights on the ones they intend to purchase and expressing disappointment that some seem to have already sold out.”
Very soon afterward, the collection sold out, with 1,775 shirts selling for $185 each. All of the profits from the collection were donated to the IUCN conservation, which is one of the leading conservation groups worldwide.
Moreover, numerous people continued to donate funds just in order to support the cause.
