Doutzen Kroes Says Ambassador Role For #Knot On My Planet Gives Her Sense Of Purpose

Supermodel Doutzen Kroes didn’t just become an activist two years ago, but the Dutch superstar model, mom, wife, design collaborator and activist for humanity tells Vanity Fair that it’s her role as global ambassador for #Knot on My Planet that gives her a tremendous sense of purpose.

Vanity Fair checked in with Kroes before shooting the new #Knot on My Planet campaign with Naomi Campbell and Serena Williams also part of the production. The Knot on My Planet elephant conservation effort gained momentum when Reed Krakoff became chief artistic officer of Tiffany & Co. last year. The new collection will expand beyond elephants to also include rhino and lion pieces.

Tiffany has partnered with the Elephant Crisis Fund on the #KnotOnMyPlanet campaign, launching an initial campaign featuring Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington Burns, Naomi Campbell and other prominent voices tying a knot to never forget elephants under threat from ivory poachers.

While there has been some good news — China banned all commercial ivory trading in 2017 — the situation remains bleak in many African countries. Most recently, nearly 100 elephants were discovered dead in Botswana, a country that has relaxed its elephant protection policies under its newly-elected president Mokgweetsi Masisi. New reports in Africa are that Botswana is also considering lifting its hunting ban.

Followup October. 21, 2018: The New York Times wrote on September 28 an article ‘Doubts Mount in Botswana Over Charity’s Claim of Elephant ‘Poaching Frenzy’.

We will dig much deeper into the very thoughtful arguments raised in this article concerning the influences of outside groups involved in elephant conservation being pitted against the wishes and interests of native Africans living on the land. The NYT article is too complex and valuable a read to treat it as an addendum.

African elephants photographed by Susan McConnell.

Returning to Tiffany & Co, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, chief sustainability officer at Tiffany and chairman and president of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, sat down with Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton, founder of Save the Elephants, to discuss his tireless efforts on behalf of these magnificent creatures and what we can all do to help.

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