EDUN LIVE Promotes Sustainability in Africa

Oct 1, 2008

Christine Driscoll, business development manager, EDUN LIVE, stands with Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, at a ceremony celebrating the first shipment of organic EDUN LIVE garments. It marked the first time that an entirely Ugandan-made product was shipped from the country, according to Driscoll.

The premise was pretty simple. When EDUN, a fashion company specializing in organic, eco-friendly clothing and graphic T-shirts, was founded in 2005 by musician, activist and philanthropist Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, the duo also wanted to focus on sustainable employment on the ground level in the region where the clothing is produced: sub-Saharan Africa.

To increase the impact the fashion brand could have there, EDUN LIVE, the blank T-shirt business and sister brand of EDUN, was founded about a year and a half ago. EDUN LIVE's goal is to create sustainable jobs and trade opportunities in Africa by driving high-volume orders for T-shirts — which are ultimately delivered to the promotional products market — through the country's supply chain.

Even though the initiative is associated with Bono, EDUN LIVE should not be considered a non-profit, says Christine Driscoll, business development manager, EDUN LIVE.

"We want this to be sustainable," she says. "If you're actually creating trade, then you're creating success on the ground. You're creating an environment that can last for the long term, where everyone is building capacity and making money."

EDUN LIVE's "Grow to Sew" initiative facilitates the use of 100% African cotton that is cut and sewn there to keep value in the region. EDUN LIVE also has teamed with the Wildlife Conservation Society to launch the Conservation Cotton Initiative, which aims to improve the livelihoods of African communities by investing in sustainably harvested cotton.

Why Africa? Driscoll says the country has lost a lot of world trade. According to EDUN LIVE, Africa had a 6% share of the world's trade in 1980. By 2002, that share had dropped to 2%, which is disappointing for a continent that has the resources to be successful.

To learn more about EDUN LIVE and the Conservation Cotton Initiative, visit edun-live.com. — J.L.

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