Sleaze-free sloth for American Apparel’s latest campaign

LONDON — Over the past few years, barely a month has passed without news of yet another sexually-explicit/offensive/provocative American Apparel ad campaign sparking controversy or being banned. In fact, it had become more than a little tedious.

But it seems the brand may have finally changed tact. The latest campaign is about as family-friendly as you can get, featuring the YouTube generation’s favourite creature: The sloth.

Meet Buttercup, the latest campaign implores above an image of the aformentioned languid three-fingered Bradypus sloth, the first to be rescued by Judy Arroyo, the woman who started The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica in 1997.

As such, Buttercup, who loves nothing more than sunbathing and nibbling on hibiscus blooms, has become the “official ambassador” for the sanctuary (and a YouTube star in the process).

Now the 23-year-old sloth is the poster girl for American Apparel’s new venture in aid of Earth Day 2015, and will star on a limited-edition T-shirt designed by artist Todd Selby. Thirty per cent of the shirt’s proceeds will go to the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica and it is made with 100 per cent USDA certified organic and pesticide-free cotton.

The move to a more wholesome image follows a year of turmoil at the Los Angeles-based company, which ousted founder, chief executive and president Dov Charney last December following a string of allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment. Paula Schneider was drafted in as the new CEO shortly after and has vowed to wipe out the “culture of sleaze” created by self-confessed “dirty guy” Charney.

Buttercup, it seems, is the first — slow — step in that process. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH