On my morning dog walk with Kiwi to Starbucks, I noticed an article on their community bulletin board with a photo of Howard Schultz and Bono announcing that Starbucks is joining the Product(RED) effort to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa.  It made clear that this involvement is about commerce not charity which I liked!  I hadn’t heard about this new partnertship yet…so when I got home, I went to the Starbucks website to see what I could find out.

The October 29, 2008 Starbucks press release says, “Starting on November 27, 2008 and continuing through January 2, 2009,  Starbucks will contribute five cents from the sale of any (STARBUCKS)RED EXCLUSIVE beverage* at all company-owned and licensed stores in the United States and Canada to the Global Fund to invest in AIDS programs in Africa.   Once (STARBUCKS)RED EXCLUSIVE Holiday beverages leave stores, the company will offer its customers the opportunity to make (RED) choices in their purchases every day.”

“(RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT)RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children. Current partners are: American Express (U.K. only), Apple, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark, Dell, Windows and Starbucks.  Since its launch in the Spring of 2006, more than $112 million has been generated by (RED) for the Global Fund. (RED) money is at work in Swaziland, Rwanda, Ghana and Lesotho. For more information, visit www.joinred.com.”

(RED) has been controversial because people wonder about the level of contribution versus the amount spent promoting it.  However, (RED) is a commerce-based way to support a cause which means it needs to make business sense and be win-win.  Frankly, generating $112 million in 2 years for the Global Fund is only great news!!  What other marketing resources the companies spend to promote their (RED) products and their involvement they would be spending anyway.  At least these companies have all stepped up to be part of a movement that is looking for solutions to a serious issue of our times.

My sister gave me an ornament for Christmas this year – an angel made from a Sprite can.  I thought it was very cute…and then I read the attached card and saw what a thoughtful gift it was for me given my interest in business support for causes globally.  The front of the card had a stylized drawing of the angel with the words “angels with attitude” along the edges.  Inside, it said that the angel was made from a recycled soda can by Zulu teenagers orphaned due to the AIDS epidemic as an extra-mural youth entrepreneurism activity.   “Purchasing an angel will impact directly on the students , assisting them to feed, clothe, and educate themselves and at the same time giving them a sense of pride and selfworth.”

Even after reading the hangtag, I still had no idea what the angel REALLY symbolized.  When I went to the Angels Against Crime website (http://angelsagainstcrime.co.za/background.htm), I learned more about the tragic story behind the 25 year old Sutton family’s Zulu handicrafts business, Ilala Weavers, support of these angels.  Jeremy, one of two sons involved in the family business was murdered on the job in 2000.  “Jeremy was working with a group of handcrafters on a Beaded Angel, which was to be sold as a Christmas decoration. On the 30th August 2000, he went on a field trip into the Maputoland region of Kwa-Zulu Natal to meet with a group of crafters, to collect work and pay them for it. He hadn’t long been there, when two men approached him, one pulled out a gun and cold bloodily, in front of twenty people, shot him through the heart and took the money. The murderers have since been taken into custody and are serving two life sentences each.

The family decided to dedicate the Angel, which because of his work on it, had become known as Jeremy’s Angel, as a symbol against crime and of peace, and to use the proceeds from the sale of the Angels to curtail crime and to assist crime victims, by supporting organisations and projects which do this.”

The mission of Angels Against Crime is:” To promote peace and goodwill, create awareness and reduce crime by supporting education, training and skills development projects that create sustainable income generation and improved standards of living for the youth of South Africa.” (http://angelsagainstcrime.co.za/index.htm)  The four goals of the project are as follows. “To create employment for the rural people of Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal.  To Promote peace and goodwill. To assist campaigns and projects aimed at curtailing crime in South Africa. To assist those who have become victims of crime and violence.”

The website also provides consumer education on safe travel tips for South Africa.  The Ilala Weavers business website, http://www.ilala.co.za/, provides a link to the Angels Against Crime website, and offers the beaded and recycled can angels for sale through their website, as well.