Fresh Finds

Seeing Red

Whatever your position on celebrity activism may be, you have to give credit to U2's Bono for being the most visible of the visible, promoting AIDS treatments and debt relief in Africa without having to resort to illegal tree climbing (we applaud your dedication and efforts, Darryl Hannah) or other wild attention-grabbing schemes.

But when he launched his sweatshop-free Edun clothing line, created to promote trade and sustainable economies in third-world countries and made primarily in African countries, it was a bit of a shame that the clothes were only made available to the small segment of the public shopping at high-end retailers Nordstroms and Saks Fifth Avenue and at various isolated fashion boutiques. Fortunately, the megastar is bringing his good-faith efforts to the mass population, teaming up with the world's largest clothing retailer, The Gap, to sell his "Product Red" clothing line. The Gap, itself a target of quite a few anti-sweatshop activist groups, is redeeming its image with Bono's new line of t-shirts and jeans, some of which are made in factories in Africa in order to stimulate economic growth, and as much as fifty percent of the net sales of all Product Red items will go to purchase AIDS anti-retroviral drugs.

Product Red doesn't stop at The Gap's doors either. Apple has launched a Product Red iPod nano and Motorola a Product Red Razr phone, and Emporio Armani and Converse are also selling items under the label. Donations are made by each of these companies to provide AIDS medication.

Product Red was actually launched last spring in the U.K. by Bono and Bobby Shriver, CEO of the non-profit Debt, AIDS, Trade Africa. The program's first offering was a red American Express card, ironically not available in America, with which consumers could purchase any item and a portion of the sales were donated to AIDS eradication efforts in Africa. Now the concept is spreading, and just in time for the holidays. So this season, you can actually feel good if your bank account is running in the red.

For more information on Product Red, see www.joinred.com. For other ethical clothing lines, look out for "Sweat-free Fashion" in our upcoming Top Product Picks Issue. Also, consult our Clothing Product Report .

© The Green Guide, 2008

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