2010 is the Year of the Tiger. In celebration, WildAid held their very first T-shirt design contest. WildAid's mission is to end the illegal wildlife trade within our lifetimes. To achieve this, WildAid uniquely focuses on raising awareness to reduce the demand for threatened and endangered species products and to increase public support for wildlife conservation. The proceeds of these shirts will be donated to WildAid’s efforts. For more information, see WildAid.org
Todd, of Brooklyn, who created one of the winning designs wrote, "My design is initially meant to provoke a chilling reaction to seeing a bold flatline superimposed on the normally striped body of the tiger, representative of its near-extinct condition in the world. A subsequently uplifting response is intended as the viewer sees this flatline suddenly burst into a flurry of activity and life, suggesting what we can accomplish for the animal in this, the Year of the Tiger. Seen walking atop and supported by the WildAid logo, the tiger's pose and momentum is indicative of its own strength and power, but only through efforts from WildAid and the rest of the world can we end the unconscionable slaughter of these animals. The back of the shirt echoes the front: when people stop demanding tiger products, the world's flatlined tiger population will have a chance to flourish. As for what tigers mean to me, there is something to be said for a cat having transfixed man for thousands of years, as seen by their inclusion on numerous countries' flags and seals, not to mention the vital role they play in so many nations' cultural heritages. China, being one of the primary perpetrators of illegal tiger trade, have reduced the tiger from cultural icon to black market commodity, from the basis of an entire system of kung fu to the monetary sum of its slaughtered parts. To lose the largest cat to illegal trade and hunting would be a horrible loss; I don't want to live in a world where my children would equate such icons as Tigger, Hobbes, and Tony the Tiger with an extinct species, one that we could have saved in our lifetimes."
WildAid T-Shirts will ship from Tiger Claw's California shipping facility. Shipping may take a bit longer for our East Coast customers. |
