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Some of fashion’s most iconic images feature exotic animals. There’s William Klein’s cheetah portrait series with German model Veruschka, Tim Walker’s white peacock masterpiece with Jennifer Lawrence, and – let’s not forget – Richard Avedon’s triumphant elephant trunks with American model Dovima.
Now, an organisation is uniting fashion houses to help protect our precious wildlife.
It’s a simple (and ingenious) idea: The Lion’s Share Fund asks the world’s leading luxury brands to contribute 0.5% of their media spend every time an animal is featured in their advertisements.
This money will then be distributed to tackle the crisis in nature, biodiversity and climate across the globe. Since launching in September 2018, the fund has provided grants to improve critical radio systems for law enforcement officers protecting wildlife in Mozambique’s Niassa Nature Reserve, helping to reduce the rate of elephant poaching to zero. It’s also secured vital land for endangered orangutans, elephant and tigers in North Sumatra and Indonesia, and invested in protecting coral reefs in the West Pacific Ocean.
The fund, led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), aims to raise over $100 million per year within the next five years to keep up their important work.
Considering animals appear in approximately 20 per cent of all advertisements in the world, it makes sense that said advertisements should help protect the animals they feature.
The luxury fashion house, Gucci, agrees. They’ve joined The Lion’s Share Fund and committed to donating much-needed funds to the cause. “The Lion’s Share Fund is an important addition to our conservation strategy. Nature and wildlife provide Gucci with inspired creation that is an integral part of our narrative through our collections and campaigns. With the increasing threats to the planet’s biodiversity, groundbreaking initiatives like The Lion’s Share Fund have the potential to be transformative by organically connecting the business community with direct action to protect our natural habitats and most threatened species,” says President and CEO of Gucci, Marco Bizzarri. “In a similar way, since 2018, Gucci has been totally carbon neutral across our supply chain and we offset our remaining emissions every year through REDD+, which protects critical forests and biodiversity around the world.”
For UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner, the partnership marks the continuing evolution of the fund. “Wildlife populations are half the size they were just 50 years ago, and their habitats and ecosystems are destroyed at an unprecedented rate due to human activity. The Lion’s Share is an idea that is as innovative as it is simple – and it makes a real impact on wildlife conservation,” he says.
According to The Lion’s Share, we can achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and provide a future for our children and animals alike – if we work together. Let’s do this.
For more information, visit TheLionsShareFund.com.
