Images of apocalyptic fires in Australia have tragically dominated the news in the last few weeks: millions of hectares of land and homes were destroyed, people died and many species were pushed to extinction. Climate change fueled the fires that easily spread because of record drought and extremely high temperatures (above 40C). In a previous post we looked at a record fundraiser launched by Australian comedian Celeste Barber and in the last few days the fashion industry joined the efforts to help. 
Balenciaga for example announced it will raise money for Australia with T-shirts and hoodies: at the end of last year it was announced that up to 30 per cent of koalas may have been killed in New South Wales by the deadly bushfires.
So the fashion house decided to release white T-shirts and hoodies featuring "an image of the vulnerable Australian koala", as a press release stated, explaining that 100 per cent of the proceeds from the sales will be donated to local conservation organisations selected by the Kering Group and Balenciaga sustainability experts. The items will go on sale on Balenciaga's website from tomorrow, January 13.
So if 100% of the sales will go to conservation organisations, you wonder where Balenciaga will get the money to pay for the lawsuit that will arise from this project. Why? Well, the adorable "vulnerable Australian koala" is not an original design, but it is the koala from the Animal Club International™ brand.
Inspired and created by P.D. Moreno and LoCoco Licensing, as it states on its site, this brand developed a wide range of cute animals that it licenses for a variety of products for kids, from shirts and puzzles to diaries and books (products that can easily be purchased from different retailers, including Amazon).
As Animal Club International™ is not mentioned in connection with the Balenciaga T-shirts and hoodies, you guess there was no licensing and no deal between the two entities.
Now, some people highlighted on social media that producing more clothes is not the right answer to raise money for an issue like the emergency in Australia. After all, the fashion industry fuels climate change and climate change is largely responsible for the Australian situation. While they are correct, there is another point raised by these products, that is more to do with the creative aspect of the design.
You wonder indeed if the fashion industry has gone so lazy that it is not even able to produce an original design for a charity project and, if this was done without any licensing from Animal Club International™, how come that Balenciaga keeps on doing the same mistake over and over again? (remember the previous faux pas involving Little Trees and City Merchandise Inc?) And isn't it offensive to release such a lazy product for such a big emergency? It looks indeed as if Balenciaga didn't even have the time or the will to come up with something more original. Is this how a revered fashion brand pays homage to a natural disaster?
Last but not least, if this is not an official collaboration with Animal Club International™ will it be the first (and last) copyright infringement case for Balenciaga for the year 2020? Who knows, the year has just started after all. In the meantime, if you want to help Australia, sending a donation to a proper charity or fundraiser project sounds like a better option than investing in another unoriginal designer garment. 