Lacoste swaps its iconic crocodile logo for 10 endangered species

French clothing company Lacoste has teamed up with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to launch Save the Species, a campaign to raise awareness for the global state of biodiversity and animal rights. The IUCN has been the global authority on the status of the natural world for 70 years. To kick off the three-year partnership, Lacoste, alongside its agency BETC Paris, have created 10 extremely limited-edition polo shirts which see the famous crocodile logo make way for 10 threatened species.

Lacoste and BETC worked closely with IUCN’s experts to define and select the species, which are represented as logos that adopt exactly the same style and embroidery approach as the crocodile. The number of polo shirts produced for each series corresponds to the remaining population sizes in the wild. It ranges from 30 specimens for the Vaquita, to 450 specimens for the Anegada Rock Iguana.

The shirts were launched at Lacoste’s runway show at Paris Fashion Week today. A total of 1,775 polo shirts have been produced and are available for sale on the Lacoste website for about AU$240 each.

This is the first time the brand has initiated a logo change in its 85-year history. The crocodile is said to be an homage to company founder René Lacoste who was nicknamed “the Crocodile” because of his tenacity on the tennis court. All profits from the sales of the shirts will fund the IUCN’s nature protection actions as well as further communication that gives visibility to the cause and the Save Our Species program. What a magnificent way to capitalise on a brand’s equity (for good).