Cotton Incorporated plans to ask NASCAR fans to drop their jeans for its first race sponsorship, the Nationwide Series Blue Jeans Go Green 200 at Phoenix Int'l Raceway. The cotton industry promoter signed a one-year sponsorship for the March 1 race to promote its blue jean recycling initiative. Financial terms were not available, but Nationwide Series races typically sell for the low- to mid-six figures. The recycling program, established in '06, converts discarded denim into insulation that is used in low-income communities.
Cotton Inc. is offering fans who donate jeans a 20% discount on the race, and it plans to promote its cause with direct mail to season-ticket holders and out-of-home signage that features its “Drop Your Jeans For a Cause” slogan. This is the first time Cotton Inc. has done a NASCAR deal to support the recycling initiative, but the organization’s co-Dir of Strategic Alliances Andrea Samber said that they will be monitoring how NASCAR fans respond to determine whether or not they do more sponsorships in the future.
