The last warm wool sweater

Last summer's heatwave in Europe made us aware of what researchers have been urgently warning about for years: the earth's climate is warming up rapidly. The consequences of this will hit us hard - unless we take action soon.

But how do you make young people aware of this after a long, hot summer of swimming? Wirz, together with Zurich fashion designer Julian Zigerli, has found a fashionable answer to these questions: the Last Sweater - a Christmas sweater that depicts climate change in bright colors.

"Climate change affects us all. And we are constantly being told about it. But not much has happened so far. With the Last Sweater, we are now bringing art and fashion design into play," says Jan Schlink, head of marketing communications at WWF. "The success shows that we are on the right track."

"The campaign is all about the sweater," adds Livio Dainese, co-CEO and creative director of Wirz. "It's a content and statement piece in one. Anyone who wears it quickly realizes: it leaves no one cold."

"Thank you for warming" is written on the knitwear made of the purest organic merino wool, while polar bears shed their fur in the heat, plastic bottles form what appear to be snow crystals, smileys melt away, and masses of water rise up to form tsunamis. These are subjects that tell us: If we want to continue wearing sweaters, we have to stop warming the climate as soon as possible.

To spread the message, climate witnesses were interviewed in Spitsbergen under the auspices of the Wirz Storyline content and PR team, and subsequently testimonals were found to share pictures of themselves in sweaters on social media.

At the same time, all buyers of the Last Sweater were also encouraged to take a picture of themselves in the sweater and to make a post with the hashtag #lastsweater. Media titles from "Blick" to "NZZ" reported on the "Last Sweater of the Stars".

From Lo & Leduc to Marc Forster: all in the Last Sweater

The worldwide campaign is supported by Lo & Leduc and the first guard of urban dialect music, Sophie Hunger, Olympic freeski champion Sarah Höfflin, comedian Gabirano and top model Tamy Glauser, among others. The sweater has also found many prominent supporters internationally in recent weeks: Director Marc Forster, actor Alan Cumming, Grizzly Bear frontman Ed Droste, German chart-toppers AnnenMayKantereit or Brazilian food activist Bela Gil, among many others, want to make sure that the Last Sweater will not really be the last wool sweater in the world.

The colorful knitwear even made it to the National Council on December 3. Regula Rytz, President of the Green Party Switzerland, wore the Last Sweater during the climate debate on the revision of the CO2 law and thus represented a clear point of view: We must finally take responsibility.

All proceeds from the sale of the Last Sweater go directly to WWF projects against climate change. The campaign will continue throughout the winter.

Responsible at WWF Switzerland: Jan Schlink (Head of Marketing Communication), Jasmin Schmid (Project Manager Marketing), Philip Gehri (Corporate Communication), Nadja von Burg, Fiametta Kym, Lisa Bounoure (Social Media), Stefanie Brenner (Web), Gabi Wild, Patricia Letemplé (Webshop). Responsible at Wirz: Adrian Schräder, Niels Schäfer, Samuel Christ, Dominique Magnusson, Thomas Kurzmeyer, Naomi Gulla, Antonia Sturzeis, Tiffany Gagia, Julia Röthlisberger, Erasmo Palomba, Bettina Faessler, Cosima Lang, Nora Pfund, Michèle Roten, Tim Lieberherr, Mario Müller, Désirée Guzzo, Rino Frei, Livio Dainese. Photography and film: Stephan Schacher.
Editing: South-t. Sound Design: Recording studio Z. Design: Julian Zigerli.