June 6, 2017
The African elephant is in danger from the vast illegal ivory trade. Image source: Tiffany
U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co. is rolling out the first part of its social media campaign aimed at raising awareness for ivory poaching with the #KnotOnMyPlanet call to action.
The #KnotOnMyPlanet campaign is raising funds through a limited-edition golden elephant brooch, as well as a new line of elephant-related charms found within the jeweler's #TiffanySaveTheWild collection. Tiffany's jewelry for the effort is available through online retailer Net-A-Porter with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Elephant Crisis Fund.
Save the elephants
The current estimated population range for elephants in Africa is hovering between 400,000 and 500,000, according to the Wildlife Conservation Network.
These numbers are dangerously low, historically, and the elephant population could potentially suffer further losses over the next 10-20 years unless some major action is taken.
The prevailing factor in the dwindling of elephants in Africa is a large, complex and deeply embedded global ivory trade that thrives on illegal poaching.
A piece of Tiffany's new collection; Image credit: Tiffany & Co.
As a member of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance, Tiffany has launched several campaigns relating to the conservation of wildlife and its latest effort involves a partnership with Net-A-Porter to sell elephant-themed jewelry.
The #TiffanySaveTheWild collection features a number of animal and wildlife-inspired designs, particularly an elephant charm and an 18-karat gold elephant clip.
All of the proceeds from this collection will be donated to the Elephant Crisis Fund, a fund dedicated to both immediate and long-term methods of curbing ivory poaching and conserving the elephants that currently live in Africa.
Additionally, Tiffany partnered with the retailer's Porter magazine for a feature exploring the African habitats of endangered elephants.
Porter magazine's June edition featured a partnership with Tiffany for the cover story: a journey to Samburu, Africa to get up close with the elephants that need saving and to provide more information on the specific problems facing the conservation efforts.
Conservation
This is not Tiffany’s first foray into issues outside of the world of fashion and jewelry. The brand is often unafraid of wading into important issues, such as its most recent statement on climate.
Last week, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Paris Climate Agreement, or the Accord de Paris in French, is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to deal with greenhouse gas emissions through mitigation, adaptation and financial policy starting in 2020. The Paris Climate Agreement was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries in 2015 (see story).
An image from a Tiffany photoshoot, themed around the African elephant
Before the announcement was made, Tiffany posted a statement on Instagram urging the president to keep the U.S. in the agreement. This plea was not heeded.
Luxury brands debuting limited-editions of products is a tried and true method of raising funds for noble causes. Most recently, Fortnum & Mason did so with artist David Bailey to raise awareness for South Asian tigers.
Mr. Bailey created 400 small bronze tigers modeled after the real life Sumatran tiger, of which only 400 live in the wild today. Each piece will be available for sale with proceeds going to help conservation efforts of the specific subspecies of tiger (see story).
Tiffany’s latest campaign continues to show that the company is unafraid of aligning its brand with moral values, something that many brands may feel hesitant to do at the risk of alienating potential customers.
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