The 15 Below Project

Taxi marked its 15th birthday with an internal challenge to produce something that would give back to the community at large. The winning idea, which evolved from the cold weather alerts issued when the temperature drops to -15º C, was a way to help get the estimated 300,000 people living on Canadian streets out of the cold.

Out of this came the 15 Below jacket, a wind-, fire- and rainproof coat. Designed in collaboration with fashion designer Lida Baday, it’s lined with 15 pockets which can be stuffed with newsprint to provide adjustable layers of insulation for all weather. To test the effectiveness of newspaper as an insulator, Taxi ECD Steve Mykolyn spent eight hours in a freezer facility wearing the stuffed coat at temperatures as low as -30º. When it’s not being worn, it can be folded into a large back pocket, or used as a pillow or backpack.

A public website, 15belowproject.org, introduced the project and tracked its progress. Word of mouth spread quickly, and the 15 Below jacket was soon featured on television and radio news programs, as well as in the blogosphere.

However, the most important result is the number of homeless people who will be helped. In this sense, the biggest challenge was distribution. Taxi partnered with the Salvation Army to distribute 3,000 coats to shelters across Canada. A poster, printed on newsprint, included instructions on using the coat and could itself be ripped up and used as stuffing. Taxi donated the $10,000 prize the jacket won via the Corbis Creativity for Social Justice Award to the Salvation Army to help fund distribution.

This month, an online auction featuring 15 jackets autographed by celebrities including REM, Robert Plant, Isabella Rossellini, Rush and others will raise money for a second manufacturing run.