“The best way to understand someone is to walk in somebody’s shoes…”

Wait, scratch that. No, not shoes. And no, not walk… Wear! a T-shirt! A special T-shirt at that! The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has launched a unique fundraising and awareness project that give children a chance to wear one adorable T-shirt. It’s not just any T-shirt. The “Ele-tee” is an elephant-shaped ‘tee’ that—apart from being cool and having an actual trunk—unlocks an original animated short film that sheds light on the causes of the African elephant’s slide towards extinction.

The story bears an important lesson for children about the plight of elephants in Africa and was illustrated by a celebrated children’s author and animated by an Academy Award-winner.

The storybook brings to life the tale of ‘Garzi the Orphan,’ which is inspired by real events. The poor elephant was rescued by the Trust at 18-months-old after his mother was killed by poachers. As a heartfelt tale, Garzi’s story highlights the very real issues faced by African Elephants today, including droughts caused by the climate crisis, habitat loss due to infrastructure development and illegal logging, and human-wildlife conflict over space and food. Educating children about all these threats might one day help save the largest existing land animals.

The Ele-tee and the story were designed and developed by agency whiteGREY—which is a part of the Grey Group network—and the animation produced by Academy Award-winning production company Passion Pictures. whiteGREY’s Creative Director and children’s author Ronojoy Ghosh illustrated the Garzi story; while American actress and model Kate Upton voiced the story.

Chad Mackenzie, National Executive Creative Director, whiteGREY, explains the noble hopes the agency has with the campaign: “The Ele-tee is an incredibly charming t-shirt but unlocks a story with a serious message. We hope the tale of Garzi will inspire kids and their parents to engage with the issues facing African elephants.”

And when it comes to helping elephants, we could easily call The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust the experts in helping elephants: The Trust has successfully hand-reared 247 orphaned infant elephants through their Orphans’ Project, which is proudly named the most successful elephant orphanage in the world.

Rob Brandford, Executive Director of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, explains why the new design could mean so much for the endangered giants: “The Ele-tee is tremendous fun for kids of all ages to wear and it sheds light on an important message about elephant conservation. We hope the charm of the Ele-tee and story of Garzi helps children, families and the world understand the many issues of why elephants are facing extinction, and inspires them to take action.”

Sophie Woods, Director’s Rep at Passion Pictures, adds: “It’s been a joy to help bring the story of Garzi the Orphan to life through such beautiful, simple animations. Throughout our history, Passion has had the honour of using animation to tell sensitive stories, helping bring challenging issues to life.”

If you’d like your kids to wear the Ele-tee and learn more about Garzi himself you can visit the Trust’s online store and by the T-shirt there: http://sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/eletee. Upon purchasing the T-shirt, you will get a code to view the inspiring video. Moreover, the Garzi story will be turned into an educational curriculum as part of the Trust’s global school programs.

Profits from the sale of the cute Ele-tee go towards the Trust’s efforts of protecting habitats in East Africa and its pioneering Orphans’ Project to rescue, raise, and rehabilitate elephants back into the wild.

Credits:

Ele-tee design, illustration and creative: whiteGREY

Animation: Passion Pictures

Videography: Mark Brightwell Films