MANUFACTU(RED)

product(RED) has received an amazing amount of positive press for a for-profit company that allows major brands to widely advertise as being ethical while distributing tiny amounts of profit to a charity that provides AIDS drugs to Africa. one notable critic is buylesscrap.org, who argue that shopping is not the answer and that direct giving goes much farther. when i see the red products from companies such as the gap, apple and motorola, i am most struck by the global trade-off of giving a little to charity through products manufactured in oppressive environments like china. the gap has admitted to buying from suppliers that use child labor, apple was widely criticized for the working conditions in its ipod factory (although the second- and third-tier suppliers are far worse). while clearly a product relations strategy, product(RED) extends the practice of turning our backs on manufacturers’ responsibility for ethical standards and places the task on consumers who prefer the color of blood.

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