Coach is taking a more-sober view of the holidays this year.
The company is introducing a campaign titled A Wasty Holiday that speaks to the fact that between 25 and 43 percent more waste is created then than at any other time of the year.
But the message isn’t all doom and gloom. The campaign also offers hope to the brand’s Gen Z target community by shining a light on Coachtopia, a circular subbrand that uses waste from the manufacturing process to create new products.
The campaign, which launches on Wednesday, features a film starring actor and Coachtopia community member Lola Tung, star of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” who, alongside a creature named Wasty, makes a resolution to transform holiday waste into Coachtopia creations.
The story begins with Wasty, who spends evenings searching the streets for things that have been thrown out. One night, it peers through a window to see Tung, who is beginning to panic about all the holiday waste that’s piling up in her family home. A lightbulb goes off, and Wasty takes pieces from the waste he’s stockpiled to create a Coachtopia checkerboard-patterned bag that he leaves at Tung’s door. They agreed to work together to create a community, “and the rest is Coachtopia history.”
Other Coachtopia products featured in the film include a variety of Upcrated bags and accessories made from recycled and recyclable materials, graphic knits in 98 percent recycled wool, Loop products made from 95 percent recycled plastic, and some ready-to-wear pieces such as a checkerboard vest made from shearling scraps.
Coach said the unorthodox campaign is intended to help its Gen Z customers learn how to balance their love of fashion with the wasteful practices of our society that result in climate change. The campaign was created after conversations with Coachtopia’s beta community of Gen Z advisers.
As the season progresses, Coach will replace flash sales and other messaging with gift guides that speak to the sustainable nature of Coachtopia products.
