Product Red

Product Red (styled (PRODUCT)^RED) is an initiative begun by rock singer Bono and Bobby Shriver of Debt AIDS Trade in Africa (DATA) to raise money for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Bobby Shriver has been announced as the CEO of Product Red, whilst Bono is currently an active public spokesperson for the brand.

File:Productred.gif

Product Red is a brand which is licensed to partner companies such as American Express, Apple Computer, Converse, Motorola, The Gap and Giorgio Armani. Each company will create a product with the Product Red logo and a percentage of the profits from the sale of these labelled products will go to the Global Fund.

Guiding Principles

According to PRODUCT RED's website, the organization's guiding principles are as follows: [1]

To expand oppurtunities for the people of Africa
To respect its employees and ask its partners to do the same with their employees and the people who help make their products or deliver their services
To promote HIV/AIDS workplace policies and practices
To sees the power of a (RED) community mobilized for hope, health and progress
To ask its partners to uphold the same principles

Products

File:Indie RED 2nd ed.jpg

The 2nd Product Red Special Edition, guest designed by Giorgio Armani

American Express Red Card.
The Gap is selling a line of clothing including T-shirts made in the African country of Lesotho from African-grown cotton.
Converse is selling a shoe made from African mud-cloth.
Giorgio Armani has announced wrap-around sunglasses with the Product Red logo.
Motorola has announced special editions of their SLVR and RAZR mobile phones, with a portion of each purchase going to the Global Fund.
The Independent newspaper is in partnership with Product Red.
The Hotel Café tour is presented by MySpace and Product Red.
Apple Computer has released a special edition iPod nano with a Product Red theme.

Timeline

Launch Date	Product Type	Partner	Product Name	Description	Amount donated to Global Fund (US$)	MSRP (US$)
January 26, 2006	Launch	WEF	Announcement	Product Red initiative first announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Global Fund identifies Rwanda as the first country to receive funding from Product Red.
March 1, 2006	Credit Card	American Express	American Express RED	American Express Red Card launched in the UK. Only UK residents with UK bank accounts are eligible.	1% of total spend. Up to 1.25% after spend over £5,000.	No annual fee for life. Typical 12.9% APR variable.
March 15, 2006	Clothing	The Gap	Gap Red	Launch party in London for the Gap line with 22 page feature in Dazed & Confused magazine.
April 3, 2006	Fashion accessory	Giorgio Armani	Emporio Armani sunglasses	Metal wrap-around sunglasses (style EA 9285/S) launched worldwide. Available in green, rose, blue, smoke grey, grey and brown, all embossed with the EA RED logo. The forked frame arms, available in shades of ruthenium, gunmetal and light gold, are superimposed on the single lenses.	40% of gross profit margin from sales of all (Emporio Armani) RED products directly to the Global Fund. ^[1]
April 3, 2006	Shoes	Converse	Mudcloth shoes	Converse Product Red limited edition Mudcloth trainers, designed by Giles Deacon, are available in the UK and US.
May 15, 2006	Mobile phone	Motorola	Red Motorola SLVR	Red Motorola SLVR launches in the UK		$249.99
May 15, 2006	Newspaper	The Independent		Bono edits the UK's Independent newspaper for the day, featuring a distinct red print.	50% of day's revenues.
August, 2006	Fashion watches	Giorgio Armani	Emporio Armani watch	Giorgio Armani’s second RED product are Emporio Armani unisex watches (style AR0537/AR0538). It features a large 43mm stainless steel case with a coin-ridged bezel, a leather strap available in black with red contrast stitching, or vice-versa, and steel rivets that secure the strap to the case. The large digital dial displays the time in oversized numerals and has calendar, chronograph and timer features with push button controls on the side of the case. The dial also features the (Emporio Armani) RED logo at 12 o’clock printed onto the dial’s outer ring.	40% of gross profit margin (see sunglasses)	$225
September 21, 2006	Newspaper	The Independent		The Independent printed its second Product Red special edition, guest-designed by Giorgio Armani. This Red edition includes articles from a host of public figures and celebrities including George Clooney, Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyoncé. The newspaper's daily features section, Extra, is a 36-page magazine for the day and each paper comes with a free Kate Moss poster. All revenue from online sales will be donated to help fight AIDS in Africa.	All revenue from online sales.
October 13, 2006	MP3 player	Apple Computer	iPod	Bono appears on the Oprah Winfrey Show to US launch of Red products, including the iPod nano Product Red.	$10	$199

References

^ "Emporio Armani official Press Release" (HTML, DOC). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

Tim Weber (2006). "Bono bets on Red to battle Aids". BBC. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
Product Red FAQ. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
Product Red Fact Sheet. Retrieved February 26, 2006.
[2]. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
Motorola Press Release Retrieved May 15,2006.

External links

[sunglasses-1] "Emporio Armani official Press Release" (HTML, DOC). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

[1]