Teaming Up with Lacoste to Champion Awareness of Threatened Species Conservation

Launching at Paris Fashion Week 2018, the IUCN Save Our Species capsule collection is the fruit of an inspiring collaboration between global fashion and sportswear brand Lacoste SA and IUCN Save Our Species.
Lacoste, Save Our Species
Image credit: Lacoste

The Lacoste team has created 10 limited edition polo shirts, where its iconic crocodile leaves its historic spot to ten threatened species. Together these rare reptiles, birds and mammals champion the plight of all known threatened species. The number produced in each series corresponds to the remaining population sizes in the wild as estimated by IUCN species experts. People can participate in the championing the cause by

  1. Snapping up a polo-shirt via Lacoste’s online shop
  2. Sharing the videos on social media using the #LacosteSaveOurSpecies hashtag or
  3. Getting more involved with Save Our Species.

The crocodile. This is how the French tennis champion Rene Lacoste was nicknamed in 1927 for his tenacity on the court. Today, the Lacoste logo still symbolises the will and commitment the brand invests into each action it undertakes. Taking the capsule collection from concept to launch has been achieved in half the time it usually requires for such a project and testifies to the dynamism which businesses like Lacoste can bring to the global extinction threat: a universal challenge which many agree is of utmost urgency to environmental sustainability.

For IUCN in its 70th anniversary year, not only is this an opportunity to engage with business to help achieve its mission, but it also fits with the IUCN Save Our Species open partnership approach which invites support from all sectors of civil society to bring their respective skills and competencies to bear in scaling up the fight on extinction.

You too can help by sharing our species online using the hashtag #LacosteSaveOurSpecies on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.