The importance of honey bees’ survival came into focus with the release of the kid flick Bee Movie a few years back.
Now we’re getting another reminder via Ali & Bono’s Edun clothing line, as they launch Bee Tees just in time for Earth Day. The shirts are meant to raise awareness for organizations helping to preserve bees, and are made from 100% organic cotton.
Beginning April 22, two different styles of Bee Tees will be available at select Anthropologie stores, retailing at $58. Window displays in the stores will also feature educational information about honey bees.
Last 4 posts by Tassoula
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I have to say there’s not a shot in hell that I’d ever buy something from Edun. $58.00 for a t-shirt is ridiculous….and that’s one of Edun’s cheaper shirts.
Then again, I place zero value in “organic” cotton. I grew up on garden fresh veggies, and I can promise you they don’t meet the “organic” definition.
kc – Some of us are willing to pay more for something that fosters fair trade, practices ethical treatment of employees and educates folks about global problems.
And as for the organic cotton, I can assure you there are no quotation marks needed—these are very high quality shirts that are actually organic. And very well worth it.
Preserving bees?
Someone explain.
Here are just a few articles to bring you up to speed, Andy:
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Canada/2009/04/05/9008901-sun.html
http://www.whitbygazette.co.uk/news/Bumblebee-numbers-at-crisis-point.5145088.jp
http://www.vancouversun.com/Technology/City+Vancouver+supplies+free+condos+boost+urban+population/1475229/story.html
I will vouch for the quality of the Edunt-shirts. If these are anything like the quality of the tour shirts on the last two tours, mine are still in excellent shape – way better than other concert t-shirts I have.
Tassoula, there’s a difference between paying more and getting scalped. $50.00 for one of their cheaper t-shirts is a ridiculous amount of money for a T-SHIRT!
As for the quotes on Organic cotton they’re there, because organic means zilch to me. I’ve had Organic food and it’s nothing special…and sometimes worse (see bananas). I’m all for doing things for the environment, but the organic movement often seems more like religion than science. When your typical gardener’s food isn’t organic enough to be “organic,” it’s gone beyond ridiculous. But hey if you’ve got some extra disposable cash and you want to spend 3-4x on fruit go for it.
I am completely underwhelmed by several of the “charitable” endeavors the band is associated with – Edun and (RED) being the ones that stick out in my mind.
As soon as it went from being a “cut out the middle man” straight from the developing world (e.g. Traidcraft where my family would buy food when I was growing up) to a “corporations pay to look socially aware by slapping (RED) on their discontinued merchandise at an appaling markup over MSRP” game, I completely lost interest.
I’d far rather use my spare money to buy traffik free chocolate (See http://www.stopthetraffik.org/) than waste it on overpriced crap that is no more environmentally friendly or socially conscious than non-(RED), non-EDUN products from the same or similar manufacturers.
Instead of the (RED) AmEx card, there should be a (RED) “Nothing” where you don’t piss away your cash/credit in the name of phony-philanthropy and instead give 100% of the money you were thinking of spending directly to the causes that need it (rather than an unimaginative corporation that doesn’t. Hint: Motorola, Microsoft, Apple, …).
Sorry, I’m not paying for a $58 t-shirt to help the bees. That’s a week’s grocery bill.
And, the latest is actually that things are looking up for the bees, since the world realized two years ago that they were in peril. Nature is going to sort this out.
The plain EDUN t-shirts on http://edun-live.com/ go for 11.00 and 14.00, that’s not very expensive.
I’m amazed by the amount of negativity that’s permeating this blog, which is primarily frequented by U2 fans.
To respond:
KC – You’re not paying $50 for a shirt. You’re paying for a high-quality, organic shirt that promotes fair trade, a donation to bee research, and you’re also raising awareness by wearing it. Furthermore, it does cost more to produce a shirt using vegetable dyes vs. harsh chemicals, organic materials vs. mass-produced synthetics, etc. so the shirts aren’t marked up as high as you may assume. I worked in fashion advertising for 8 years; I’ve toured the factories and seen the difference.
Steve – If you don’t like (RED) or Edun, that’s your right, but don’t make claims that aren’t true. The products are more environmentally friendly and socially conscious than their counterparts and the fact they are for-profit companies only helps replenish our failing economy and stimulates the economies of nations in much worse shape than we are in. At the end of the day, developed countries are consumers; if that’s the only way that charities can get us to respond to a crises, so be it. To me, buying a shirt crafted in AIDS-affected village by people who are trying to work to earn their living is far more noble than paying for a $200-a-plate dinner and listening to a bunch of suits speak at a stale benefit.
Silvrlvr – That $58 in groceries may not go as far if 1/3 of our food supply is compromised. I would love to be as optimistic as you that nature will “work it out,” but I share in the belief that if humans can help reverse the problem in any way, they should make every effort to do so. At the very least it will speed up the process. As for things “looking up,” an article as recent as last week claims the opposite in Hawaii:
http://www.khon2.com/home/ticker/42369912.html
To conclude, if buying a shirt isn’t the way you want to help a global problem, that’s your right, but don’t criticize those of us who support it.
Amen, Tassoula.
I agree that the shirt is a good way to go about this…
but i do have to say that if all Apple has to do for literally millions of dollars in free advertising is give $5 from a $300 Ipod to charity, then apple cannot be said to be involved in anything even approximating charity. (RED) is doing a great thing. I just wish they’d really hold these corporations feet to the fire. The amount of publicity that (RED) products get is insane, both paid and otherwise. And like a person above did comment, they are usually older models that have had the price raised. Which effectively means that Apple is giving nothing. It is probably gaining more than it is losing.
(RED) is great, because all these companies should be chipping in something. But they aren’t, we are essentially, and it all seems very old-school way of doing things, and seems to still put capital and money first, Africa second, and that’s a shame.
If you want to buy the shirt and contribute to social issues like fair trade, fine. I don’t think the prices are too high. If I can do something socially concious, I’m willing to pay more money for it. If I don’t agree with the way these issues are handled here, I try to donate money to an organisation I believe in. It’s no big dea.
Oh, and (Red) and EDUN both are NOT charities. I don’t know how many times Bono and Ali have to say that. These are business models, they create a win/win situation for all parties involved. If you don’t agree with it, donate money on your own. People are always looking for negativity, but if you are only being negative and nobody is doing anything about certain issues, there will never be any progress in these areas.
Oh and steve, please don’t spread false infos. (RED) isn’t “philanthropy” and it isn’t a charity. No one has ever claimed it is. If you want more money to go to the Global Fund or other organisations, please be free to go and donate it.