Coachtopia champions sustainability with its innovative campaign titled “A Wasty Holiday.” This initiative challenges the conventional festive narrative by addressing the unsettling reality: the holiday season is when wasteful behavior peaks. To bring hope amid this issue, Coachtopia introduces products born out of their Made Circular™ ethos, turning waste into aesthetic and functional designs.
The campaign sets in motion with a cinematic piece starring American actress and model Lola Tung best known for her role in Amazon Prime series, ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty.‘ The narrative revolves around ‘Wasty’, a symbolic creature that, in collaboration with Lola, endeavors to convert waste into striking Coachtopia designs. This enchanting tale not only establishes Coachtopia’s origin but also underscores a pressing concern: during holidays, waste production surges by 25 to 43 percent, and an alarming $8B is wasted on undesired gifts in the US, with approximately 10% destined for landfills.
Joon Silverstein, Coach’s SVP of Global Marketing, Creative, and Sustainability and the driving force behind Coachtopia, comments on this initiative. “In Coachtopia we’re always working to shift our mindsets around how we create and consume fashion – and this is especially important during the holidays, a time of year that’s full of cheer and celebration but also overproduction and overconsumption. That’s why we’re disrupting the traditional narrative by focusing not only on the joy of the season, but also its underlying problems. Through our ongoing conversations with our Beta Community of inspiring Gen Z individuals, we know they keenly feel the conflict between their love of fashion and the impacts of the industry, and that this tension is especially pronounced for them during the holidays. With this campaign, we’re both reflecting these concerns and offering a hopeful way forward, in an emotional tale that invites our audience to join our Coachtopian community of people working together to build a better future for fashion.“
The film showcases Wasty, depicted as a colossal, vibrant creature created from Coach’s waste, on a quest to salvage discarded items. On one cold night, Wasty, while peering inside a window, spots Lola Tung, portraying a Gen Z individual overwhelmed by the accumulating holiday waste. Driven by innovation, Wasty envisions a transformative use for this waste. This epiphany leads to Wasty fashioning an exquisite Coachtopia present for Lola from the gathered waste, marking the inception of their united mission. The tale culminates with a potent message: “Have a Wasty Holiday,” emphasizing a waste-centric holiday salutation and bolstering Coachtopia’s ambition for a circular future.
Expressing her exhilaration, Tung says, “I’m so excited to be able to bring Coachtopia’s origin story to life. The character of Wasty speaks to my inner child, but also reminds us of the beautiful things we can create with waste when we think in a more circular way. The holidays are a cheerful and exciting time of the year, but I also think it’s important to be aware of our consumption and consider the ways we can all be more sustainable. Even if it’s as simple as reusing wrapping paper.“
The campaign, in addition to featuring Lola and Wasty, showcases an array of Coachtopia products ingeniously designed using Upcrafted, recycled, or recyclable materials. Notable products range from the Ergo bag crafted in Upcrushed™ Upcrafted Leather to playful graphic knitwear composed of 98%+ recycled wool.
As the campaign evolves, Coachtopia seeks to reinvent traditional holiday marketing and sales tactics through a sustainability lens. This involves substituting aggressive promotions and FOMO-centric content with engaging gifting guides emphasizing Coachtopia products’ reduced carbon footprints. Consistent with its vision, Coachtopia refrains from offering holiday discounts. Additionally, any Coachtopia item can be returned to their retail outlets for store credits, facilitating its resale, recycling, or repurposing.
“A Wasty Holiday” was conceived in collaboration with the Stockholm-based creative powerhouse APE_CC, directed by the talented Jason Yan Francis.
