Dive Brief:

• Apparel maker Diesel has teamed up with Coca-Cola to launch a new capsule collection of clothing made out of partially recycled materials and sold online, according to a post on the Coca-Cola website. The line is initially available only through a hidden shopping page on Diesel.com before it rolls out to stores. To access the secret shop, consumers can scan any recycling logo worldwide.
• The range, called Diesel x Coca-Cola: The (Re)Collection, includes apparel made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled cotton, and features Coca-Cola branding. The goal is to raise awareness about recycling and the potential outcome of recycled PET fibers, per the announcement.
• The clothing line will also be available at the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris, debuting at a special event during Paris Fashion Week. As part of the collection's global rollout, additional recycling-themed events will be held in London, Berlin, Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing, Amsterdam and New York.

Dive Insight:

Purpose-driven marketing has been popular among brands that aim to connect with consumers over societal issues they care about. Coca-Cola and Diesel want to show consumers that they can purchase fashion-forward clothes and still be eco-conscious. The launch comes amid efforts by environmentalists and politicians — including the recent well-publicized U.N. Climate Change Summit — urging consumers to think how they can change their consumption habits to cut their carbon footprint.

The effort leverages several popular marketing tactics to create an omnichannel experience designed to engage consumers worldwide, including enabling mobile users to bridge real-world and digital experiences by scanning a recycling logo to activate a digital shopping page. Coca-Cola has repeatedly incorporated mobile scanning into its marketing efforts, such as with a summer promotion that gave people a chance to win more than 150,000 prizes by scanning scan a Sip & Scan icon on cans and bottles of Coke, Coke Zero Sugar or Coke Flavors.

With its recycling-themed events, experiential marketing also plays a key role in the effort, showing how marketers are looking to drive excitement with in-person experiences that younger consumers crave.

Diesel has embraced topical issues in its previous campaigns. A recent effort created with Publicis had brand ambassadors decked out in clothes with hateful comments printed on the sleeves. The "Hate Couture" campaign was designed to raise awareness of online bullying and illustrate its ugly message through fashion.

With this latest effort, Diesel joins a number of brands that have created capsule collections to capitalize on consumer interest in a specific theme like sports or environmental issues. Lacoste created a special line in 2018 to raise awareness for endangered species. Pepsi supported its soccer push last year with an international clothing line and Louis Vuitton recently debuted a capsule collection for the League of Legends World Championships.