Three pairs of jeans "custom ripped" by lions, tigers and bears sold for a combined $3,500 at a Japanese auction in July.
Conceived and designed by the Japanese animal advocacy group the Mineko Club, each pair of Zoo Jeans promises to be "The only jeans with the design in the world."
"The wild rips and tears in Zoo Jeans have been created with pure animal instinct," according the Zoo Jeans official website.
"Zoo Jeans are the only jeans on earth designed by dangerous animals. We first take their favorite playthings -- old tires and giant rubber balls -- and wrap them in sheet of denim. Then we return them to the animals and let nature take its course."
The fabric is then removed from the toys, and the most fashionable remnants are cut and sewed into a pair of jeans.
Two pairs mauled by lions and one mauled by tigers sold at a Japanese auction house for $3,500, with one pair of the lion-distressed jeans selling for $1,500. The Mineko Club kept the pair mauled by bears.
A large portion of the money was donated to the World Wildlife Fund Japan, whose director of communications, Akiko Ishihara, told CNN Money that although the group accepted the donation, they are less-than-thrilled about how the money was acquired.
"In principle, we don't raise money by using animals in this way."
شلوار لی / جین وح : http://t.co/hF2v8cEvvZ pic.twitter.com/qnt1JHOtZj— Yanondesign (@Yanondesign) August 11, 2014
Zoo Jeans: when fashion meets animals http://t.co/1gQjqk8ojO #zoojeans #branding pic.twitter.com/v61ZnAakrC— The Branding Journal (@thebrandingjnl) July 24, 2014
Distressed Denim Taken Literally by Zoo Jeans - http://t.co/aAXP7aNyIn pic.twitter.com/x6IXMHB4Hp— Lana O. (@LunaJay) August 4, 2014
Japan is selling "Zoo Jeans", ripped by bears, tigers, and lions http://t.co/dyGOc9nGhN pic.twitter.com/8atfli438h— HUH. (@huhmagazine) July 10, 2014
Japan is selling ZOO JEANS fashionably ripped by lions, tigers and bears #ohmy http://t.co/JPuKNvfQtB pic.twitter.com/vmrPUX0Cs5— Helen L. Cho (@helenlcho) July 12, 2014
Fancy wearing jeans "fashionably mauled" by tigers, lions, or bears (oh my!)? http://t.co/hCepdjTo7T pic.twitter.com/7Miy2gGedy— inhabitat (@inhabitat) July 22, 2014