Collegio Online

Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Opinion

Product Red, which is endorsed by celebrities such as Bono and Bobby Shriver, seems to have done wonders in merging capitalism with charity.

Through their business plan, brands like Apple, Converse, American Express and GAP, among others, contribute a portion of their profits earned from Red products to the Global Fund, which distributes anti-retroviral medications for the AIDS victims of South Africa.

As consumers, these Red products can be appealing. But although we think we're helping to eradicate AIDS in Africa, in reality, we're fueling the capitalist system that prevents the people of Africa from creating sustainable economic systems that can generate funds to medicate themselves.

My main concern with Product Red is the sketchy gimmick they've created to lure consumers into purchasing overpriced products in the name of charitable contribution. Product Red companies want you to feel and look good by purchasing their signature, red-colored products. On the business plan's Web site, joinred.com, one can read: "What better way to become a good-looking Samaritan?"

I was suckered in at first. Through their thought-provoking ads and celebrity endorsements, I was convinced that Product Red was a worthwhile cause.

I wanted to help people, to make a difference from what seemed like a world away. I was proud to chat on my red Motorola Razr... until I came across some information that ended all of my charitable pride.

According to a CBS News report, in supporting Motorola, I was supporting a company that uses a rare mineral called coltan, mined by militia in the Democratic Republic of Congo where a gruesome civil war is ongoing. Then I realized that I had also considered purchasing a GAP T-shirt quite possibly made using child labor, and Converse shoes a teenager was likely underpaid to produce.

If I'd had the money last spring, I would have splurged on the $200 Product Red iPod. However, I was a broke freshman at PSU. Otherwise I would have wasted approximately $500 on material possessions.

My proposal is that we buy less expensive material goods and make larger donations to more direct non-profit organizations and charities. With the purchase of a $40 media player instead of Apple's iPod, a consumer could donate the remaining $160, compared to Apple's $10. This donation could prolong an AIDS victim's life for 400 days, based on joinred.com's own statistics, which state, "It costs just 40 cents to fund the two pills a day needed to keep someone with HIV in Africa alive."
My advice to consumers wanting to be generous is to buy plain T-shirts, red markers, labels and canvas shoes to create their own red products. Get with your friends and spread the message about AIDS in Africa in the Oval. Donate the remaining portion of your would-have-been Converse shoes and T-shirt to the Global Fund.

I leave you with the opening lines of Product Red's own mission statement, featured on joinred.com:

"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."

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