Save a Penguin. Knit a Sweater.

An oil spill in early October 2011 led to an unusual request from a New Zealand yarn store. The cargo ship that ran aground in New Zealand wreaked devastation on the area’s wildlife, in particular to beloved penguins.

ABC news said, “Oil can be extremely harmful to penguins, whose feathers are very different from other birds. They have very dense and tiny feathers of different lengths that stick onto them like Velcro, creating a waterproof pseudo-wetsuit.”

Skeinz ‘The Natural Yarn Store’ reached out with a solution: Knit penguin jumpers! The idea of cute penguins affected by a villain oil spill, combined with the hero image of colorful, knitted sweaters, went viral. People shared, shared, and shared this photo:

 

The story was seen across major news outlets, such as this feature on NBC’s Nightly News:

 

How does an oil spill cause a knitting frenzy? The Huffington Post reported, “The sweaters serve a dual purpose of keeping the penguins warm until rescuers clean them and preventing the birds from cleaning themselves while they are coated with poisonous oil.”

Skeinz quickly received enough penguin jumpers, thanks to generous knitters across the globe. They then introduced, “Meet Flip & Peggy,” cute penguin stuffed animals wearing the surplus jumpers. All proceeds from purchases of Flip and Peggy benefited the “Penguin Rescue Fund.”