Zara's New Fruit Of The Loom TRF Collection Is a Positively Brilliant Collab

Fruit of the Loom — the iconic and beloved apparel brand that has never been pompous or taken itself too seriously — has partnered with retail powerhouse, Zara, to launch their first joint capsule collection available in U.S. stores and also in Zara stores globally and on Zara.com.

Sara Grace Wallerstedt models the Fruit Of The Loom TRF collection of bright-colored, quality T-shirts, sweatshirts with matching shorts and pants, undergarments and new, modern shapes that are part of Zara’s younger, back-of-the-store TRF must-haves. Photographer Dario Catellani [IG] captures Wallerstedt, styled by Vittoria Cerciello. / Hair by Jimmy Paul; makeup by Emi Kaneko

Brilliant Collab

We note the term “first”, because this is a totally brilliant idea and probably the signal of an enduring future relationship between the two companies.

If you follow US politics, you know that even Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has a strong association with Fruit of the Loom. The brand had wide-spread exposure during both the 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. Young people still “Feel the Bern” in America.

“It’s an honor to collaborate with one of the world’s most prominent and innovative fashion brands,” said Karen Kendrick, Fruit’s VP Brand Communications and Creative Services. “Zara’s use of our logo from the 80s and 90s, modernized with bright colors, is a wonderful tribute to the fun, optimistic spirit Fruit of the Loom embodies.”

Is the Fruit Of The Loom TRF Collab Sustainable?

One huge Zara communications miss — one AOC’s noted for the second time in a week — is Zara’s failure to promote the fact that most [if not all] items in the collection feature the Join Life tag on the website. Join Life is the sustainability tag for Zara, implying that the garments are carrying significant sustainability credentials.

H&M does not make mistakes like this — a failure to always be promoting the environmental credentials of a collection. Yes, all big companies run the risk of being charged with greenwashing, but Zara is either serious about Join Life, or it isn’t. Everything I know about Join Life, is that Zara has set major sustainability goals for itself and expects to meet them.

AOC had the same issue with another Inditex brand Massimo Dutti’s New Green collection last night. In this moment, we won’t post it, as we can’t verify that it’s actually sustainable. No way will AOC share a New Green collection carrying environmental, sustainable insinuations in its name, that isn’t easily verified and communicated to our readers.

Given the commitment of young people to environmental action and Fruit’s beloved status with young people, both Fruit of the Loom and Zara should be promoting the collab’s sustainability credentials. If they don’t exist, then take off the Join Life tags on the Zara website. ~ Anne