Lacoste Save our Species Campaign

Lacoste recently launched a new campaign, and I am in love with the idea of it. Lacoste has never been a brand I have bought pieces from, or in all honestly thought about buying pieces from. Lacoste have collaborated with IUCN in a fight for wildlife conservation.

Lacoste have ditched the crocodile and replaced the embroidered animal (each on the traditional white polo shirt) with an embroidered endangered animal. There are ten endangered species involved, and the number of the endangered species left in the wild corresponds with how many polo shirts Lacoste released– so they are extremely hard to get your hands on.

A List of The Endangered Species:

• The Gulf of California porpoise. It is critically endangered due to getting entangled in shrimp gillnets.

Number left in the wild– 30

• The Burmese Roofed turtle. Man is this turtles main predator due to egg collection for consumption.

Number left in the wild– 40

• The Northern Sportive Lemur. This lemur is found in Madagascar and due to poaching and deforestation of its habitat, this lemur is also a critically endangered species.

Number left in the wild– 50

• The Javan Rhino. These rhinos are actually protected under the Rhino Protection Unit. However, due to illegal poaching of their horns they are also endangered.

Number left in the wild– 67

• The Cao- vit Gibbon. This ape is found bordering China and Vietnam. Deforestation rapidly reduces its habitat.

Number left in the wild– 150

• The Kakapo. This is a parrot species native to New Zealand. The species has a very low reproductive rate and so there are very few left in the wild.

– Number left in the wild– 157

• The California Condor. This is the largest flying bird in America. Its habitat is becoming increasingly polluted by human- induced waste and disposal and also due to lead poisoning.

Number left in the wild– 231

• The Saola. These are herbivores found in the mountains of Vietnam and Laos. Poaching in the area means this species is critically endangered, and it is one of the only large mammals that is so.

Number left in the wild– 250

• The Sumatran Tiger. This tiger lives in Indonesia. The main reason this tiger is becoming extinct is due to poaching and deforestation.

Number left in the wild– 350

• The Anegada Ground Iguana. This iguana is native to the British Virgin Island of Anegada. Due to cattle breeding and agriculture making their habitat shrink they are endangered.

Number left in the wild– 450

Proceeds raised from these polo shirts went to The International Union for Conservation of Nature. The aim being to raise awareness of these endangered species, always bearing in mind that the list is much longer than the ten French Company Lacoste have included. Overall there are 1459 species on the endangered list.

What is the most saddening is that out of all of these critically endangered animals, humans are mostly to blame and people ignoring the fact we are to blame is a huge factor in worsening this huge issue. Cutting back on eating meat, reducing car journeys and recycling are easy but huge ways we can make a positive impact.

Thankyou so much for reading, hope you enjoyed, Katy x