Ivory Ella
Corporate brand
UnclaimedAn American online clothing and accessories brand built around elephant imagery and wildlife-conservation fundraising.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Ivory Ella is an American online clothing and accessories brand founded in Connecticut in 2015 by John Allen, Jacob Casaldi, and five other co-founders. The company combines consumer apparel with an explicitly conservation-oriented mission, using elephant imagery throughout its branding and product designs. Its name refers to Ella, an elephant associated with Amboseli National Park, and the brand presents its commercial activity as a way to support elephant protection and opposition to the ivory trade. The business developed after Allen and Casaldi observed strong consumer interest in an elephant-themed ring sold through Allen's former workplace, Boho Outfitters. They interpreted the popularity of the motif, together with heightened public attention to elephant conservation, as an opportunity to create a dedicated lifestyle brand. Ivory Ella launched with an online-first model and became known primarily for casual apparel featuring elephant graphics and related visual themes. Its assortment has included clothing, jewelry, and other accessories rather than being limited to a single garment category. A central part of Ivory Ella's stated business model is charitable giving. The company has identified Save the Elephants as a principal beneficiary and has described a commitment to donate 10% of net profit toward efforts to end the ivory trade and protect elephants. The brand has also used limited collections and cause-related campaigns to direct proceeds to other organizations. In 2020, its Australian Wildlife Rescue collection directed 100% of net profit to Animals Australia in response to wildlife emergencies. During the COVID-19 period, the Spread Hope campaign supported Project Sunshine, whose activity kits were intended to provide therapeutic and engagement benefits for children receiving care in hospitals while isolated from normal activities. Ivory Ella has also collaborated with Megan Bugg on a collection supporting Lurie's Children's Hospital Chicago. Proceeds from that initiative were intended to assist pediatric cancer research and provide hospital supplies. These projects broadened the brand's cause platform beyond elephants while retaining its emphasis on purpose-led retail and limited-edition merchandise. The company has described its shirts as being made from 100% cotton, although its broader range of clothing, jewelry, and accessories has not been presented as uniformly sustainable. This distinction is relevant to the brand's positioning: Ivory Ella combines conservation messaging with conventional fashion retail rather than operating solely as an environmental-products company. The elephant symbol functions simultaneously as a recognizable design element, a brand identifier, and a link to its charitable mission. Ivory Ella has remained primarily associated with direct online commerce. Company representatives have considered expanding onto Amazon but have expressed caution, particularly because of concerns that another pandemic or comparable disruption could affect sales and operations. Publicly available reference material does not establish a current corporate parent, legal owner beyond the reported founders and chief executive, headquarters address, public listing, or definitive current operating status. Accordingly, those details remain unspecified in this dossier.
History
Ivory Ella was established in Connecticut in 2015 by John Allen, Jacob Casaldi, and five additional co-founders. The origin of the brand was linked to the commercial performance of an elephant-themed ring that Allen encountered while working at Boho Outfitters. The product reportedly sold better than the other items in that setting, leading Allen and Casaldi to view elephant imagery as a viable basis for a dedicated brand. Broader media attention surrounding elephant conservation and the ivory trade also helped shape the company's concept. The founders created Ivory Ella as an online clothing and accessories business rather than as a traditional conservation nonprofit. Its products used elephant motifs as a recurring design language, allowing the same symbol to operate as a fashion graphic and as a reminder of the company's stated charitable purpose. The range developed beyond shirts to include other clothing, jewelry, and accessories. The brand has described its shirts as made from 100% cotton, while acknowledging that the entire assortment is not uniformly sustainable from an environmental standpoint. From its early development, Ivory Ella connected sales with donations. Its principal conservation relationship has been with Save the Elephants. The company has stated that it dedicates 10% of net profit to efforts to end the ivory trade and protect elephants. The name Ivory Ella reflects this mission: Ella is identified with an elephant in Amboseli National Park, while the word ivory references the conservation issue the brand seeks to address. The company's public identity therefore rests on a combination of graphic apparel, online retail, and cause-related giving. The brand has periodically applied this model to issues beyond elephant conservation. In 2020, it introduced the Australian Wildlife Rescue collection and committed 100% of its net profit from that collection to Animals Australia. The initiative connected the company's wildlife-oriented visual identity with emergency support for Australian animals. Ivory Ella also ran the Spread Hope campaign during the COVID-19 period. Proceeds from that campaign went to Project Sunshine, which creates activity kits for children in hospitals. The kits were described as tools for therapeutic engagement and as a way to support children who were isolated during treatment. Another cause-related initiative involved Megan Bugg, with whom Ivory Ella developed a collection supporting Lurie's Children's Hospital Chicago. Proceeds were directed toward pediatric cancer research and hospital supplies. These collaborations demonstrate the brand's use of special collections as fundraising vehicles, while its elephant-centered core remained the most distinctive part of its identity. Operationally, Ivory Ella has been associated mainly with online direct-to-consumer retail. The company has discussed the possibility of joining Amazon, but reference material indicates that it has approached that decision cautiously. Management has been concerned about the possibility that another pandemic could disrupt sales, making channel strategy and operational resilience relevant considerations. Available material does not document whether the Amazon expansion occurred. Public references identify John Allen as chief executive and identify Allen and Jacob Casaldi as founders, but do not provide a complete list of the remaining co-founders or a current executive roster. They also do not establish a corporate parent, public-market listing, current ownership structure, or a definitive current status. Ivory Ella is therefore best documented as a Connecticut-founded, online-oriented apparel brand whose commercial proposition is closely tied to elephant conservation and charitable partnerships.
Products and positioning
An online lifestyle apparel brand that uses elephant imagery and conservation-linked giving to differentiate conventional clothing and accessories.
Clothing · 2015
Elephant-themed apparel
Ivory Ella's core products are casual garments featuring elephant graphics and related conservation-oriented designs. Shirts are specifically described as being made from 100% cotton. The elephant motif serves as both a visual signature and a direct expression of the brand's conservation mission, linking everyday apparel with fundraising for elephant protection.
Accessories
Jewelry
Jewelry forms part of Ivory Ella's broader accessories assortment. The brand's origins were influenced by the strong performance of an elephant-themed ring, making jewelry relevant to its early product inspiration as well as to its later lifestyle positioning. Specific current styles and materials are not established by the available reference material.
Cause-related apparel collection · 2020
Australian Wildlife Rescue collection
Released in 2020, this wildlife-focused collection extended Ivory Ella's conservation positioning from elephants to Australian wildlife. The company committed 100% of the collection's net profit to Animals Australia, making the line both a product launch and a fundraising initiative.
Cause-related apparel collection
Spread Hope collection
The Spread Hope campaign used Ivory Ella merchandise to raise funds for Project Sunshine during the COVID-19 period. The beneficiary's activity kits were intended to provide therapeutic and engaging activities for children receiving hospital care, particularly those experiencing isolation.
Charitable collaboration collection
Megan Bugg collaboration
Ivory Ella co-designed a collection with Megan Bugg and directed its proceeds to Lurie's Children's Hospital Chicago. The fundraising supported pediatric cancer research and hospital supplies, broadening the brand's charitable activity beyond wildlife conservation.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Australian Wildlife Rescue
Australia · United States · Online
Ivory Ella created a collection in response to Australian wildlife emergencies and pledged all of the collection's net profit to Animals Australia.
Outcome. The proceeds were directed to Animals Australia; the available source does not provide a total amount raised.
- Spread Hope
United States · Online
The campaign raised funds for Project Sunshine, which produces activity kits for children in hospitals and uses them as therapeutic and engagement tools.
Outcome. Proceeds supported Project Sunshine's activity-kit work; no financial total is stated in the available source.
- Megan Bugg charitable collaboration
United States · Online
Ivory Ella worked with Megan Bugg on a collection benefiting Lurie's Children's Hospital Chicago.
Outcome. The proceeds were used for pediatric cancer research and supplies at the hospital; no financial total is stated.
Brand decisions
- Consideration of Amazon marketplace expansionStrategy
Background
Ivory Ella has operated primarily through online commerce and has considered adding Amazon as a sales channel. The decision has been evaluated partly in light of concerns that a future pandemic could again disrupt sales.
Action taken
The company remained cautious about entering Amazon; the available reference does not establish whether the expansion was completed.
Aftermath
No confirmed outcome or financial effect is provided.
Recent events
Sources2 sources
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