Lacoste crocodile is probably one of the most famous and recognizable brand logos.
But last year, the company removed it from its legendary polo shirts. What for? To support a campaign to save animals that are on the verge of extinction.
"Save Our Species (SOS)"
The place of the crocodile was taken by 10 endangered species from different regions, and there were only as many T-shirts with the image of each as there were representatives of rare species left. The numbers are depressing, that's for sure:
So, in New York you could buy 444 T-shirts with the North Atlantic right whale:
North Atlantic right whale on Lacoste Polo
589 Spanish lynx polos were sold in Paris:
Spanish lynx on Lacoste Polo
In Miami, you could find 132 T-shirts with the Dominican frog — the mountain chicken frog:
Mountain chicken frog on Lacoste Polo
There were 150 polos with Yemeni mouse-tailed bat available in London:
Yemeni mouse-tailed bat on Lacoste Polo
And in Los Angeles there was the same number of T-shirts with Opal Goodeid fish:
Opal Goodeid fish on Lacoste Polo
115 T-shirts with the Northern hairy-nosed wombat could be bought in Tokyo:
Northern hairy-nosed wombat on Lacoste Polo
And in Seoul there were 400 polo shirts with the Mageli owl:
Mageli owl on Lacoste Polo
In Berlin they sold 90 polo shirts with the addax antelope:
Addax on Lacoste Polo
And there were only 40 T-shirts with a dragonfly from Cebú — as well as the remaining individuals. They were sold in Shanghai:
Cebu dragonfly on Lacoste Polo
Only one type of the T-shirt was released in a relatively large print run of 1,400 pieces and was sold online: it was the T-shirt with the Hawaiian monk seal:
All the money from the sale of the T-shirts was sent to the IUCN Foundation, which is dedicated to the conservation of endangered species. It's great that large companies are starting to think about nature and do something to preserve it.
After the sale, the famous crocodile returned to its rightful place. Do you know where it came from?
It turns out that this logo appeared thanks to a tennis player by name... Rene Lacoste!
In 1926, he was one of the first to wear a polo shirt to the tennis court. And in 1927, he received the nickname "alligator" - the captain of the national team promised to give Rene a suitcase made of crocodile skin for winning the tournament. The nickname stuck with Lacoste, and his friend drew a crocodile for him, which soon appeared on the tenissist's jumper.
And when Lacoste retired from big sports, he founded the Lacoste brand, which produced comfortable polo shirts with the crocodile logo.
As you know, over time, the company began to produce its own shoes, glasses, perfume and other accessories, but the polo shirt remains their most famous, even iconic thing. It's great that they were able to direct her popularity in the right direction.
What do you think about the Lacoste initiative?