Get Red
Have you been to the mall in the last few weeks? If you have, you’re probably seeing red. A major campaign is afoot, involving a number of top brands that have banded together with U2 singer/activist Bono. Their vision is (PRODUCT) RED, a new business model to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund to help fight AIDS.
Until I got involved in this campaign, I didn’t understand just how much of the AIDS burden Africa now bears. Of the 40 million people infected by HIV/AIDS worldwide, Africa is home to 25 million. AIDS is now the leading cause of death in Africa, in large part because very, very few Africans can afford the life-saving drugs.
The (red) products don’t cost any more than their ordinary counterparts, but a part of all (red) proceeds go to the Global Fund.
The (Red) manifesto states, in part, “As first world consumers, we have tremendous power. What we collectively choose to buy, or not to buy, can change the course of life and history on this planet.”
“We believe that when consumers are offered this choice, and the products meet their needs, they will choose (red), and when they choose (red) over non-(red), then more brands will choose to become (red) because it will make good business sense to do so. And more lives will be saved.”
“(Red) is not a charity. It is simply a business model. You buy (red) stuff. We get the money, buy the pills, and distribute them. They take the pills, stay alive, and continue to take care of their families and contribute socially and economically to their communities. If they don’t get the pills, they die.”
So far some powerhouse companies have signed on, including American Express, Gap, Converse, Giorgio Armani and Apple. When I went shopping with Kate last weekend, the Gap in our local mall made (Product) Red the centerpiece of their store, with (Red) branded clothing at large central tables right as you walk in, and all over their window displays. Apple, also, is now heavily promoting their (Red) iPod.
Program organizers say so far they have raised enough money to provide a year’s worth of school supplies and meals for more than 35,000 children orphaned by AIDS.
Is this just business smarts? Or genuine activism? Or both? I’m interested in your thoughts. I think it’s important that the organizers have not made the campaign revolve around the LGBT community (and in Africa, AIDS is far more heterosexual than homosexual). But I wonder if (Product) Red is so mainstream that we in the gay community will feel left out and disinterested?
Let’s solve world peace by shopping! Fine idea and better than engaging in sweatshop practices but give me a break why donncha. Don’t you think governments should be doing more about AIDs? And drug companies? Everything can be pushed onto the consumer and the consumer can purchase a conscience and a soul I guess but is that really what we all need?
Huzzah Neo’s Friend!
I am fed up with added guilt conscience tacked on to make us feel like we must consume more and buy more to save the world. Pishaw! It’s beyond high time for big pharma and the other corporate greedmeisters who have run this country to the ground to fatten their wallets to give back just a portion of their ill gotten gains.
(and to anyone who’s wondering- yes I am more crabby today than usual).
DivaJean,
I completely agree! What’s more is if you look at the companies the original writer lists you can easily detect some sweatshoppers like Apple and the Gap. Pick your poison I guess. You can buy Red and buy a conscience for a while in the fight against AIDs and at the same time know those things you’re buying were made by women being forced to abort in inhumane sweatshops being paid less a day than you spend on a bagel or a magazine. I thought we got rid of indulgences a long time ago! What we need in this are the ovaries to fight the good fight and that means sacrificing more than pocket change.
Fair points, Neo and DivaJean. But if I’m going to buy an iPod anyway (and I did) I might as well buy the one I know will give something back.
I don’t think consumerism alone is going to solve all the world’s problems. But obviously our purchasing decisions have an impact, and I do make deliberate decisions about companies I will support and those I wont. I definitely use the Human Rights Campaign’s shopping guide, for instance, to select those companies that are LGBT friendly vs. those that are not, especially when the products or services are basically the same.
Isn’t the GAP notoriously a sweatshop company? Pick them up ten degrees here, knock them down sixty degrees there!
You all have good points, but have any of you done anything to make a change? While I agree that big companies have big pockets and $10.00 for every I pod is a spit in the bucket, it is better then nothing!
http://www.jubileeusa.org/
Rich,
It’s fascinating to read in your own words what debt has meant to you in your life. And, your desire to help is obvious. But, are these nice corporate stories like Product Red sometimes dangerous illusions? If one is tempted to think that African debt has been “solved” or is well on its way to being seriously managed, what do we make of the whole Vulture Debt story the recently broke? I’d be curious to know how you relate your own personal experience with debt to the suffering in Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia.