Animal Collective To Sell Shark Saving Shoes

Music marketers lecture artists to make more money by "extending their brand".  Animal Collective decided to extend their band's brand to do some good.  Each member of the group has designed a shoe for accessory and clothing maker KEEP. Profits from sales will go to the Socorro Island Conservation Fund, a non-profit working to preserve the Revillagigedo Archipelago off Baja California, where illegal fishing, in particular of its shark population, is a continual threat.

Available for pre-order until October 31st, 2010, the shoes will also be released in limited numbers in select stores around the world starting March 2011. Pre-ordered shoes will be shipped directly to customers in March and will come with a bonus cassette of previously unreleased music.

“After much discussion we decided we wanted to give money to a small under-funded organization to which we felt a personal connection. Josh and I have been scuba diving together for a number of years and the Revillagigedos was one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. Hopefully this project will protect the animals of the Revillagigedos through at least one more fishing season and draw more attention to the global problem of illegal fishing.” says Brian Weitz (Geologist).

“The trip that Brian and I took to the Revillagigedos in 2007 has driven me to go diving when I can and learn as much as I can about the state and health (or lack thereof) of our oceans. Whereas I once saw sharks as a potentially frightening creature and little else, I have come to understand that they are a crucial part of a highly stressed and collapsing ecosystem,” says Josh Dibb (Deakin).