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ONE love, blood, life
Bono, wife tee off here on AIDS in Africa
BY MARK J. KONKOL Staff Reporter
U2's Bono marched his human rights tour into Nordstrom's downtown store Saturday, hawking a designer T-shirt that supports his causes -- eliminating "stupid poverty" and fighting AIDS in Africa.
The $40 fashion statement made of African cotton by Edun -- a fair-trade clothing label started by the rock star and his wife, Ali Hewson -- has the banner of Bono's "One" campaign emblazoned across the chest.
For every "One" T-shirt sold, Edun will donate $10 to a fund that pays for AIDS medication and medical care for the very factory workers who make the shirts in the remote African village of Butha-Buthe, Lesotho.
Clad in trademark wraparound shades, Bono joked of his lack of fashion sense and for a moment let a bit of the spotlight shine on his striking, raven-haired "Misses."
While her husband uses his stardom to influence government policy on a world stage, Hewson says the tiny clothing line puts the idealistic preaching to practice.
Visit 'not very uplifting'
"Bono is focusing on the macro level," she said. "We want to be able to say, 'Hey, you can have a for-profit company and make it work . . . and remain loyal to the communities. And you can watch what kind of social and environmental [impacts a company makes]."
But can a T-shirt -- even if supermodels and Hollywood stars model it -- change the world?
"A T-shirt can change the world of Butha-Buthe," Hewson said. "And that's a start."
Bono and Hewson recently visited the remote mountain village, which she said was "not very uplifting."
The T-shirt factory is the only employer in a place where townsfolk worry about finding steady work, and where about a third of the population has AIDS.
"There are real lives that are involved. This is an opportunity in a small way to make a difference," Hewson said. "What we want to do with Edun is to give people an option, a choice if they want a choice. A lot of people feel their hands are tied. . . And the 'One' campaign is one way of making a voice with other people . . . a big one."
'NRA for the world's poor'
With 2.5 million Americans already signed up as members of One, "The Campaign to Make Poverty History," Bono said the group is bigger than one rock star's mission.
"By 2008, the next presidential election, we could get to that 5 million number, which would make us as big as the National Rifle Association," he said. "We are going to be the NRA for the world's poor."
And to some extent that has been the Bono family cause since 1985, when he and Hewson visited Ethiopia.
During that trip, a man asked the couple to take his son, sparing him from a certain death in a land of poverty and famine. Bono had to leave the boy behind.
But it remained a defining moment Bono said he thinks of often, an inspiration for his subsequent charitable work.
"Funny thing is, I can't remember [the boy's] name," Bono said. "And look at the trouble he's got us all into."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bono17.html
BY MARK J. KONKOL Staff Reporter
U2's Bono marched his human rights tour into Nordstrom's downtown store Saturday, hawking a designer T-shirt that supports his causes -- eliminating "stupid poverty" and fighting AIDS in Africa.
The $40 fashion statement made of African cotton by Edun -- a fair-trade clothing label started by the rock star and his wife, Ali Hewson -- has the banner of Bono's "One" campaign emblazoned across the chest.
For every "One" T-shirt sold, Edun will donate $10 to a fund that pays for AIDS medication and medical care for the very factory workers who make the shirts in the remote African village of Butha-Buthe, Lesotho.
Clad in trademark wraparound shades, Bono joked of his lack of fashion sense and for a moment let a bit of the spotlight shine on his striking, raven-haired "Misses."
While her husband uses his stardom to influence government policy on a world stage, Hewson says the tiny clothing line puts the idealistic preaching to practice.
Visit 'not very uplifting'
"Bono is focusing on the macro level," she said. "We want to be able to say, 'Hey, you can have a for-profit company and make it work . . . and remain loyal to the communities. And you can watch what kind of social and environmental [impacts a company makes]."
But can a T-shirt -- even if supermodels and Hollywood stars model it -- change the world?
"A T-shirt can change the world of Butha-Buthe," Hewson said. "And that's a start."
Bono and Hewson recently visited the remote mountain village, which she said was "not very uplifting."
The T-shirt factory is the only employer in a place where townsfolk worry about finding steady work, and where about a third of the population has AIDS.
"There are real lives that are involved. This is an opportunity in a small way to make a difference," Hewson said. "What we want to do with Edun is to give people an option, a choice if they want a choice. A lot of people feel their hands are tied. . . And the 'One' campaign is one way of making a voice with other people . . . a big one."
'NRA for the world's poor'
With 2.5 million Americans already signed up as members of One, "The Campaign to Make Poverty History," Bono said the group is bigger than one rock star's mission.
"By 2008, the next presidential election, we could get to that 5 million number, which would make us as big as the National Rifle Association," he said. "We are going to be the NRA for the world's poor."
And to some extent that has been the Bono family cause since 1985, when he and Hewson visited Ethiopia.
During that trip, a man asked the couple to take his son, sparing him from a certain death in a land of poverty and famine. Bono had to leave the boy behind.
But it remained a defining moment Bono said he thinks of often, an inspiration for his subsequent charitable work.
"Funny thing is, I can't remember [the boy's] name," Bono said. "And look at the trouble he's got us all into."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-bono17.html
Bono and Ali
