As a cultural landmark and iconic City of Brotherly Love venue, the Philadelphia Zoo has always been able to get people talking and involved, and that effort has not slowed down during this pandemic. Like many other organizations, the Zoo has been hit hard by social distancing guidelines and closed its doors to the public back in March, but the establishment is looking forward to reopening in the future and has found a way to make sure that effort will be as spectacular as we can imagine.
With the Zoo’s new collection of apparel, those who purchase the limited edition gear will be directly benefitting the organization’s Spring Back Fund. The Fund helps the staff continue to work onsite and remotely to care for the animals that call the Zoo home and will ultimately prepare the establishment to function full-force again when it can safely do so.
The new apparel line was created in partnership with local t-shirt company Printfly and website DSGNtree.com, and includes t-shirts and hoodies featuring Philly-centric designs with a fun Zoo twist.
“Philadelphia Zoo is excited to launch a very special, limited edition new line of shirts and hoodies to help raise money for the Zoo’s Spring Back Fund,” said Philadelphia Zoo Chief Marketing and Experience Officer Amy Shearer in a release. “While we are temporarily closed to the public, purchasing an awesome shirt or sweatshirt is a great way to support the Zoo. We think our supporters will love the designs and look great while rocking their cool new outerwear. Your support and purchase is critical to our organization.”
Philadelphians have two different designs to choose from with the new apparel line. The first is a silhouette of the Philly skyline with Zoo favorite animals — including a lion, giraffe, hippopotamus, penguins, gorilla, flamingo and many more. This particular shirt comes in children’s and adult sizes, in a variety of colors: black, aqua, berry, forest, purple, red, white and gold, and each shirt is 100% preshrunk soft jersey cotton. The hoodie for this design comes in red, navy, royal, pink, gold, green, purple and black.
The second design highlights the iconic Philly ‘LOVE’ statue with a word-play design spotlighting dozens of Zoo animals from the African Lion to the Amur Leopard, to the Peacock, to the Clownfish. This particular design comes in children’s and adult sizes, with colors including white, red, berry, purple, forest, aqua, black, gold and pink and is 50% cotton, 50% polyester. The hoodie for this design comes in green, black, gold, navy, royal, red, pink and purple.
All t-shirts retail for $25 and hoodies retail for $45 with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Zoo.
“We were thrilled to partner with Philadelphia Zoo to bring a great product to its supporters while helping to raise funds for such an important and iconic organization,” said Printfly Vice President Sales Josh Hannum in the release.“We have all felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope this launch will be helpful in raising funds while providing a great product to many.”
The apparel is also the perfect outfit to wear when tuning into the Zoo’s Philly Zoo @ 2, which happens every weekday through the Zoo’s Facebook and gives viewers an interesting look at the inner workings of the Zoo and a chance to go behind-the-scenes, talk with experts and still meet some of the Zoo’s most amazing creatures.
There’s a special bonus for tuning in to the virtual event while wearing your new apparel as well. According to the release, those who wear their new apparel, take a picture and tag the Zoo on Instagram and/or on their Instagram Stories while watching the PhillyZoo @2 will be entered in for a chance to win a family four-pack of tickets when the Zoo reopens. One lucky winner will be selected out of all posts and stories entered on Instagram by May 31.
To learn more information about the Philadelphia Zoo and to purchase the limited-addition apparel, visit philadelphiazoo.org
