J. Crew's Eco Initiative Isn't What You'd Expect

With its striped Breton tees, distressed boyfriend jeans, and statement necklaces, J. Crew certainly makes the world a more beautiful place — and now the retailer is making more than aesthetic improvements to the environment. J.Crew's Earth Day offering is a Save the Bees initiative to benefit the increasingly endangered species, Women's Wear Daily reports.

J. Crew's Save the Bees business plan will revolve around profits from a series of specially designed t-shirts, whose specific aesthetic details remain to be revealed. T-shirts will be priced between $29.50 and $45, and half of all proceeds will be directed towards Oregon's conservationist Xerces Society.

The preppy chic retailer is a somewhat surprising choice to support the bee population, but as it so happens, bees are crucial to the production of food through agriculture. According to The Nature Conservancy, the bee species has a yearly financial worth of $15 billion thanks to its pollinating efforts. The 1970s saw a nearly 50 percent decrease in the volume of bee colonies, and based on The Nature Conservancy's estimates, another significant loss could be crippling for the economy as a result of reduced agricultural output.

The next time you pop into J.Crew for an impromptu shopping excursion, be sure to snap up one of the retailer's bee tees for yourself or a friend. Who knew that shopping could be so beneficial to agriculture?