In Canada, when the temperature drops to –15 C, the government issues a cold alert to help get homeless people off the streets and into shelter during these extreme conditions. But with an estimated 300,000 homeless, not everyone is able to get out of the cold. The 15 Below jacket was a high-concept, low-cost immediate solution created to help those who remain outside. Featuring multiple pockets inside and out, it’s an all-weather coat that can be stuffed with newspaper for adjustable insulation against the cold, Canadian, winter nights. It won’t eliminate homelessness, but it may help save lives. A proactive project while I was at TAXI, with the help of fashion designer Liday Biday and the Salvation Army, 3,000 jackets we’re fabricated and delivered to people living on the streets in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.

Posters printed on newsprint resembled blankets we’re created to generate awareness, as well as doubled as the insulation material for the jacket themselves. Clients received holiday cards letting them know that the money we would have spent on lavish gifts and dinners for them was instead invested into keeping someone warm this winter. Fifteen celebrities, like Jon Stewart and R.E.M pledged their commitment to the project by signing projects that went up for auction. Over 3,000 jackets we’re distributed and 15 Below was shortlisted for the inaugural Cannes Titanium Lion and well as took home two Design Lions.