Save Sex, Save the Bonobos
Dave Eisenberg — July 1, 2009 @ 10:37 am
Our namesake is an awesome, but endangered, ape called the bonobo (buh-NO-bo, like banana with o’s and b’s). Bonobos are famous for being peaceful, intelligent, and extremely promiscuous. We think our founders couldn’t have picked a better namesake. One of the reasons I got so excited to join Bonobos 18 months ago was this ethos, which seems to permeate all we do. As our founders write on our “why the name” page:
“Why did we name our pants after the bonobo? We think the human race can learn a lot from a chimpanzee that shares 99% of our DNA (they are the closest relative species to ours, homo sapiens), doesn’t resort to violence, and that holds a tremendous respect for women.
All around you, you may see men who behave differently than you. Where you value emotional intelligence, they are hot-headed and scream at passing motorists. Where they degrade women, you respect your wives, mothers, sisters, and girlfriends—and you recognize that the most advanced societies are matriarchal ones (elephants and lions and humans, oh my!). Where they choose violence, you talk down your opponent tactfully and graciously. To paraphrase legendary rapper Too Short: real gangsters don’t start fights.”
To support the endangered Bonobos, we have become an official corporate sponsor of Lola ya Bonobo, a sanctuary for these critically endangered apes. Located just outside Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lola ya Bonobo means “paradise for bonobos” in Lingala, the predominant dialect of Kinshasa. Read more about our partnership here.
Here are a few ways you can help on Bonobos.com:
1. Help us bring in new customers via the “Bonobos Referral Game,” which you can find in your “my account” page after logging in at Bonobos.com. For every new customer we bring in this year, we will donate $1 to Lola ya Bonobo. We have already donated more than $7,000, and would love to increase our donation way north of $25,000 in 2009 alone.
2. Purchase featured products like the ‘Nanners swim suit. We donate $5 from every ‘Nanners purchase to Lola ya Bonobo
3. Make a donation directly to Lola ya Bonobo here: http://www.friendsofbonobos.org/support.htm. For just $20 a month, you can adopt one of the infants in the nursey.
Lola has been hit hard this year by large corporations who have cut back their donations. Get involved with us to help save this fascinating, elegant species!
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The little dude in the second to the last picture is the cutest thing I think I have ever seen.
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