idUnited

I want this book! Check it out >

“Peace: 100 Ideas is a collaborative book project put together by Chen Design that juxtaposes 100 illustrations next to 100 ideas for achieving a more peaceful world. The book is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled, elemental chlorine-free paper using soy-based inks. Ten percent of all net proceeds are donated to wagingpeace.org for their efforts in promoting peace around the world. The book has also expanded into a bit of a traveling exhibition and a line of t-shirts worth checking out.”

This book should be required reading for all current and future world leaders. Stop F___ing with our futures! Spread PEACE!

Via > JoshSpear

I love clean water projects,.. here’s the latest one I’ve spotted >

“The TAP Project — whose board of directors boasts such names as Pharrell Williams and Mary-Louise Parker — aims to create viable sources of clean water programs for those living in underdeveloped countries.”

DKNY is helping out the cause by designing this limited edition t-shirt ($30) They will be available in their Manhattan stores and on dkny.com. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the $30 tee will benefit UNICEF.

Via > FadedYouth

A good friend once told me that > ”show is more powerful than tell” It was a great piece of advice and one I try to remind myself of all the time.

The ad below features Shirley Manson for PETA UK and is a perfect example of “show” and not just “tell”.

I hope you can try and remember this picture next time you wish you had something made of fur : )

Via > Houtlust

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts : (

Was out of town on business for the past 4days and just trying to catch up with everything. Hopefully we will be back to our regular scheduled programming.

Oh,.. and don’t forget about those Detroit inspired tees,.. They will probably be launching in early April. Stay tuned,.. or sign up for our mailing list on our web-site > idUnited.

Be good.

 _Nev

Whoaa! Check out this HOTT bride!

“A very special Roberto Cavalli designed Qee is now on auction on eBay. Standing at 60-inches tall, this porcelain white Qee is wearing an one-of-the-kind wedding dress, created by famed Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli. The auction will end on Thursday, March 15th, with the bidding starts at US$ 3,500. Proceeds from this charity auction will benefit TeleThon, an organization that supports the research for the cure of muscular dystrophies. The figurine is currently on the Toy Fashion Tour in Italy, will be deliever to the bid winner in September 2007 when the tour ends.”

5ft Tall! Wow! If you have $3,500+ to drop go bid NOW!

Via > Freshnessmag

I’ve personally never downloaded a ring tone,.. I prefer to not have everyone around me know my phone is ringing.  Anyway,.. after seeing this story I might think twice about it.

“The Brazilian aid group Cidade Movel is raising money for the Xavante Indians who live in the Amazon rainforest by selling ringtones based on their traditional chants. According to a Reuters article tones like “the hunt song” and “the healing dance” have already garnered tens of thousands of dollars for the impoverished community.”

That’s awesome! Seems like more of this should be going on. Espcially considering how big the ringtone market is —>

“ARC predicts global (ringtone) sales will surpass $5.2 bil by 2008. IDC estimates that by 2007 ringtones will be a $1 bil market in the United States.”

$1b dollar market in the US!? $5.2b worldwide!! Take a percentage of that,.. and well you know the rest of the story. Do something good with it!! 

Via > ALR

Ringtone Stats > IT Facts

Building Letters magazine is finally available after a few years of work. 100% of the proceeds of this ethical design publication go to help victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami. Previous issues raised funds for children in Africa and India.

The magazine also comes with a disc of 25 free fonts, created specifically for it, as well as another Tsunami fundraiser Fleurons of Hope. To which Noah Scalin of ALRDesign contributed.

Get a copy here

Thanks to Noah over at ALR for the tip.

I must admit I really like the (LESS) Campaign. (LESS) is a collaboration between Romantic Static and Words Pictures Ideas that allows you to donate to great charities with out buying stuff from a major corporation. Their motto is :

SHOPPING IS NOT A SOLUTION: Buy (LESS). Give More. 

“Join us in rejecting the ti(red) notion that shopping is a reasonable response to human suffering.”

And the Philosophy is true,.. if you truly want to give to a cause,.. why not just donate the entire amount?>.. I actually had this discussion/conversation with a reader when I wrote about Product (RED)  awhile back. His comment went something like:

Stop the Buying.  To Stop the dying.

I agree,.. if you really think that by buying a bunch of stuff that’s connected to a cause is your way of donating,.. well then your missing the point. The point is to become aware of a cause and walk away with the desire and passion to want to learn more about how you can help. At least that’s what I hope happens.

So yeah,.. saying you bought a hoody from the GAP,.. or idUnited doesn’t make you a philanthropist : )

I still think the philosophy of having a product/service connected to a cause is a great. I wish I had more everyday options to choose products/services that donated/supported causes. At the very least allowing me to have that option. 

One thing that comes to mind is bottled water. There’s hundreds of different brands of bottled water. And there’s only one I know that donates to Clean Water projects. That’s Ethos Water,.. and they only give a nickel (which in my opinion is weak,.. especially considering it’s about $2 a bottle and Starbucks owns them,.. anyway) Even at just a nickel Ethos water is expecting to raise $10 Million in just 5 years!! What about Dasani, Aquafina, Fiji, Voss, etc..!! Imagine how much more could be raised?… Just by drinking bottled water…..

What about text messaging?… I get charged 10cents for every txt msg I send (I didn’t buy the plan) Anyway the number of txt messages being sent per day is probably ridiculous (if you can find this figure please let me know) Let’s just estimate it’s 10million and take just 1penny from each 10cent charge.

10,000,000 txt msgs per day x $0.01 = $100,000 a day x 30 days = $3 million a month!

Just by taking a penny! 

Verizon (as of Jan 2007) had 59,100,000 customers! What if Verizon offered to donate a penny a month on your behalf?… You get to choose from a select number of Charities,.. (Like Good Magazine does) 

$591,000 a month. One penny. Not bad. I would join the network.

How about gas? $2.50 a gallon,.. I won’t even get into that.  

I guess the point I’m trying to make is,.. if your spending your money anyway,.. it might as well go toward a good cause. Especially if you end up learning about a cause you never knew about before : )

I’ll leave you a couple of quotes that still make me believe the concept is a good one. And yeah,.. maybe it needs some tweaking,.. (Like PSFK points out,.. Did (Product) RED spend more on advertising then they actualy raised for charity?) but at the end of the day,… Especially here in America (the Capital of Capitalism) We can use the strength of our economy and the habits of our consumerist culture to make a change,.. even if it’s just slightly : )

“Business has now become the most powerful force in society. We cannot solve social problems unless business accepts a leadership role. That in turn requires business to act in the interest of the common good.”

_Ben Cohen > Ben and Jerry’s

 “The prevailing view of trade could be described as commerce without conscience. And conscience is the key way out.”

_Anita Roddick > Body Shop

Thanks if you read all that! I guess that’s what happens when you stop writing for so long  : )

Via > JoshSpear

If you’re a fan of Snow Patrol then i’m sure you probably already know about their 4th single “Open Your Arms”,.. But did you know? >

“Snow Patrol will donate a percentage of the royalties generated by the single to Save the Children’s Rewrite the Future Campaign…” …”Over 40 million children living with the effects of conflict can’t go to school. Yet education is the very thing that could keep them safe, give them and their countries hope, and transform their lives. The donation from this single will help make sure all children get a chance to go to school. ”

Listen to the preview here.