Image From: Lacoste
A logo most of us have grown up with, the Lacoste’s iconic crocodile, is undergoing a change. This change is not part of the image makeover of the apparel company, but an initiative towards bringing about an awareness of the very survival of the endangered species of the world, 10 of them, to be precise.
Lacoste has replaced its most-recognized crocodile logo with that of world’s 10 most endangered species on its limited-edition polo shirt collection. The number of polo shirts, so produced, will be the exact number of endangered species left in the wild all around the world.
Lacoste’s initiative is in support of the Save Our Species program launched by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For this, the company has signed a three-year partnership with IUCN.
This initiative of Lacoste aims at bringing the 10 most endangered species of the world into the consciousness of the general public, thereby garnering their support for protection. In all, 1,775 polo shirts will be produced for the entire limited edition, corresponding with the numbers of surviving endangered species.
This limited number will certainly make these polo shirts a collector’s item. So, it comes as no surprise that each shirt is priced at a hefty $183 a piece. However, this money will not be pocketed by Lacoste but will go towards IUCN’s efforts for protecting these endangered species.
Of hundreds of endangered species, fighting for survival, Lacoste has chosen 10. So, what are those endangered species and how many are surviving?
The endangered animals include:
The Vaquita: a rare species of porpoise found in the northern region of the Gulf of California, of which only 30 are left.
Myanmar’s Burmese Roofed Turtle believed to have died out until being rediscovered in 2002, now numbers only 40; Tthe critically endangered Northern Sportive Lemur, endemic to Madagascar, has just 50 surviving members.
Southeast Asia’s Javan Rhino, the smaller version of the single-horned Indian rhino, has only 67 members left.
The Cao Vit Gibbon, a victim of rampant hunting, currently numbers only 150.
Saola, the world’s rarest large mammal found only in the Annamite Range of Vietnam and Laos, is reduced to just 250.
The Sumatran Tiger, found in the Indonesian island of Sumatra, has been red-listed by IUCN since it only has 350 surviving members.
Two birds and a reptile are also included in the Lacoste’s list of endangered species. These are:
New Zealand’s Kakapo Parrot, a large, flightless, nocturnal and ground-dwelling parrot, of which only 157 survive.
The California Condor, native to US states of California, Utah and Arizona, and the Mexican state of Baja California, number just 231.
The Anegada Ground Iguana, found exclusively in the Anegada and Guana islands, numbered only 450 at the last count.
Lacoste’s plain white polo shirt will display one of these tiny green-coloured endangered birds or animals on its left-hand corner, where the crocodile used to be. By buying these polo shirts, you can support the cause of saving these endangered species from extinction.
