Featured Image Credit: Paula Olson, NOAA on Wikipedia
Lacoste is doing something that is unheard of for a brand to do: getting rid of its iconic logo. No, they haven’t lost their collective minds; they are giving away the valuable real estate on the chest of their classic polos to species that could use the publicity more than the smiling crocodile that usually adorns the shirts. They’re giving ten endangered species the spotlight in a partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and their “Save Our Species” initiative.
The number of these special shirts produced correspond with the number of animals of that species left in the wild. That means the there will be only 30 vaquita polos made, as there are only 30 vaquita living in the wild. The logos of the endangered species were created using the same type of embroidery as they use with the crocodile. And they’re all in green. The other species chosen and their corresponding numbers are:
- The Burmese Roofed Turtle – 40
- The Northern Sportive Lemur – 50
- The Javan Rhino – 67
- The Cao-vit Gibbon – 150
- The Kakapo – 157
- The California Condor – 231
- The Saola – 250
- The Sumatran Tiger – 350
- The Anegada Ground Iguana – 450
These ten endangered species were carefully chosen by Lacoste with help from the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Each sale of a shirt will go toward the preservation of that species. The line of polos made their debut at Paris Fashion Week.
This marks the first time in 85 years that the brand hasn’t used the iconic croc on their clothing. The crocodile is used to honor the company’s founder, René Lacoste, who was called “The Crocodile” because his tennis game was ferocious.
To see the shirts and find out if you can still get your hands on one of these very limited editions, visit the Lacoste Save Our Species microsite.