In an effort to raise awareness for endangered species, sports fashion brand Lacoste has swapped its distinctive crocodile logo for one of 10 threatened animal species on a series of limited-edition polo shirts. The purpose of this new design is to bring attention to the global state of biodiversity. The species represented on their polo-shirts are sadly facing extinction.
“For the endangered species of this world, the crocodile abandons its ancestral place,” said Lacoste, who had previously never changed their green croc since its debut 85 years ago. The limited-edition collection titled Save Our Species marks a three-year partnership between Lacoste and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The limited-edition polo shirts, feature endangered animals such as the Sumatran Tiger and the Anegada Rock Iguana.
The limited-edition shirts were launched during the brand’s runway show at Paris Fashion Week on 1 March and as you can guess, they sold out immediately. One of the most amazing ideas involved in this new design is that, for each species, the number of polo shirts produced corresponds to the number known to remain in the wild.
The most limited run features The Gulf of California porpoise, of which there are only 30 left in the wild. 350 polos were made featuring the Sumatran Tiger, whose main threats are poaching and deforestation. Other species include the Burmese turtle, the northern weasel maki, the Java rhino, the eastern black crested gibbon, the kakapo, the California condor, the saola, and the Anegada iguana.
The French brand made only 1,775 polo shirts in total, retailed at $185 each.
Though the shirts have new animals, the exact same embroidery approach as the historic crocodile was used to create each one, in the same green colour too. While the Save Our Species polos are sold out, if you’d still like to contribute to the worthy cause, you can still donate via the Save Our Species website.
By Tarryn McGuire
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