The 15 Below Project is an agency-wide undertaking and symbol of the company’s dedication to ideas that create significant change. 15 Below’s first initiative is the creation, manufacture and distribution of a lightweight, waterproof cold-weather coat, featuring pockets throughout. These pockets can be stuffed with newsprint to help insulate the wearer from the cold.

Steve Mykolyn, TAXI Toronto executive creative director, led the agency initiative, collaborating with multi-award-winning Canadian fashion designer Lida Baday on the coat’s concept, aesthetics and design. Later this season, 15 Below coats will be donated to people who live on the streets in Canada and the US in each city where TAXI operates, via a network to be announced in the weeks to come.

“These are a lifeline for people without homes," says Paul Lavoie, cofounder, chairman and chief creative officer, TAXI. "They’re a pretty low-cost, immediate way to address a huge issue. Our approach to solving problems – of any sort – has always been to question convention. This won’t eliminate homelessness, but it can contribute to the comfort and safety of a lot of people.”

The 15 Below Project is a response to a challenge by Lavoie to his staff earlier this year, at the company’s 15th anniversary: how best to mark the milestone?

“Let’s use our brains, our skills, and our knowledge to solve a social problem in a different way. Let’s do something for the world,” he said.

Mykolyn conceived of the newspaper stuffed coat, and approached Baday, a friend of his since college, with the idea. She was intrigued and signed up, and then Mykolyn brought the project to Lavoie. TAXI covered much of the manufacturing costs, using funds that would otherwise have been put toward company holiday parties and gifts. Baday donated her time, while garment maker SG Wicus, contributed significant time in addition to making the coats. In addition to Mykolyn, numerous TAXI employees worked on the project. Kerri Galvin was a tireless volunteer cheerleader and researcher for the project from its inception.

“We appreciate the irony that TAXI creates ads on newspapers for clients, and our work will now have a second life as insulation,” says Mykolyn.

Baday, chairman and design director, Lida Baday Ltd. said: "Taxi's 15 Below has been a rewarding project. Any design requires an aesthetic side. The resourcing, the functions and solutions for all the details, made the 15 Below jacket a more interesting design challenge for me."

15 Below coats are made of black Aquamax, a waterpoof, breathable fabric laminated with a nonporous, hydrophilic membrane. Windproof, waterproof and strong, Aquamax is lightweight and durable. The coat features include waterproof zippers, underarm eyelets for venting, taped seams; multiple pockets that can be stuffed or unstuffed with newsprint as needed, foldaway hood, adjustable cuffs and draw cords. Stuffed, it is a winter garment; unstuffed, it is a raincoat; when not in use, it can be folded into a backpack. All coats were manufactured by SG Wicus in Vietnam.

“Our production schedule is dominated by projects for big retailers like Macy’s, the Gap or Jos. A. Bank. Integrating a project like 15 Below isn’t easy. But this project has a higher goal – we’re not just making garments for commercial reasons. We’re helping people who are suffering from cold weather. They’re not only homeless people; they’re neighbors we should take care of,” said Young Sun Lee, president, SG Wicus USA.

An estimated 300,000 people live on the streets in Canada, according to recent reports. When the temperature hits -15 degrees Celsius, the government issues cold weather alerts so shelters will make more beds available. Still, many homeless are unable to get shelter. Newspaper, long used to retain body heat by athletes, is scrunched into balls and stuffed into the 15 Below coat pockets.

In a test by Mykolyn, the garment was effective during an 8 hour, 15 minute stay in a meat freezer. Seven and a half of those hours were at -18 degrees Celcius temperature. The final forty-five minutes were at -29 degrees.