The venerable comic strip Peanuts and the eco-lifestyle brand Vayyu have jointly launched a new licensed apparel collection to mark Earth Day.
In a deal secured by WildBrain CPLG, one of the world’s leading entertainment, sport and brand licensing agencies, Peanuts Worldwide has licensed its popular cast of characters, including Charlie Brown and Snoopy, to create apparel with a message of environmental sustainability.
“With Peanuts being one of the world’s most iconic brands and Vayyu leading the way in sustainable luxury fashion, it’s hugely exciting to champion environmental conservation together,” said Chris Desai, Founder and Director at Vayyu. “The remarkable ‘Take Care with Peanuts’ initiative shows how brands can lead the way in making this world a better place and as we continue driving sustainability in fashion, we’re proud to bring this new collection to market.”
The new line will be Vayyu’s first licensed apparel collection featuring Charles M. Schulz’s classic Peanuts characters. The sustainable apparel line spans t-shirts, jumpers, vests and hats for both men and women and will be available online at vayyu.com and select retailers.
The crew at Peanuts Worldwide also got busy, producing a short animated cartoon as part of the campaign, entitled Take Care of the Earth: Choose to Reuse. You can see the full video below.
The new Peanuts x Vayyu range includes garments designed by students from Nottingham Trent University (NTU) in the UK, following a fashion design competition supported by Peanuts Worldwide and Vayyu. Final year students in NTU’s BA Fashion Design course were challenged to develop a unisex collection called ‘Snoopy Just Got Green’ to embody Vayyu’s ethos of design responsibility and sustainability, and to bring their ideas to life through the colors of nature and the characters of Snoopy and the much-loved Peanuts gang.
More than 50 students took part in the competition, and the designs were judged by the university’s lecturers as well as representatives from Peanuts Worldwide, Vayyu and WildBrain CPLG. Competition winner Alex Bolton, as well as runners up Tom Chin and Alice Doyle, will see a selection of their designs included as part of the new Vayyu x Peanuts collection, and stocked at a Vayyu pop-up shop in London his summer and also at NTU’s store. The students also receive a set of the final collection garments featuring their respective designs, a percentage of the net profit from sales made of their designs and work experience with Vayyu.
“The Peanuts and Vayyu collaboration has been a fantastic opportunity for our students to work on a real-life design project with a focus on sustainability,” said Emma Prince, Nottingham Trent University’s course leader for BA Fashion Design. “The students have learnt so much, utilizing their design skills and combining that with graphics and character licensing. There’s been some amazing outcomes and we’re very excited to see their designs become part of Vayyu’s first collection.”
The Peanuts x Vayyu collection and the NTU design challenge is part of Peanuts Worldwide’s “Take Care with Peanuts” initiative, a global multi-year enterprise encouraging everyone to take care of themselves, each other and the Earth.
“With consumers looking to make more environmentally friendly choices, we knew that Vayyu’s commitment to creating ethical and sustainable products would make them an ideal partner to expand our premium apparel offering for Peanuts,” said Tara Botwick, Senior Director, Territory Management EMEA at Peanuts Worldwide. “What’s more, the Nottingham Trent University students have done a fantastic job at immersing themselves in the Peanuts archives and creating concepts that were focused on protecting the environment and natural world. The whole collection is timely, eye-catching and bold and we’re confident this is just the start on a successful long-term partnership with Vayyu.”
As an organic sustainable brand launched in London four years ago, Vayyu was ranked the second most ethical company in the UK by the Good Shopping Guide 2018. The brand supports a number of global environmental conservation initiatives through its charity, the Vayyu Foundation. With shared environmental values, Nottingham Trent University is one of the most sustainable universities in the world. It ranked third in the UK by the People and Planet University League, and fifth globally in the UI GreenMetric.