LV and Africa

The most recent Louis Vuitton campaign features Bono and his wife Ali Hewson getting off of a plane in Africa, wearing their own line Edun. Edun is a fashion brand with a very ethical brand mission, founded by Bono and Ali in 2005 to encourage sustainable trade with Africa and promote local economic opportunities. Their main goal is not to be just another fashion line, but to create a positive movement to help people in Africa by hiring them as artisans and manufacturing 80% of their products in the countries on Kenya, Tanzania and Kenya. Needless to say, in a continent with such extreme poverty this brand did a wonderful job in promoting local business and design. In 2009. Louis Vuitton acquired a substantial stake of the company and has since been collaborating with Edun to raise awareness about trade in Africa.

The brown bag featured above was a design collaboration between both brands, the silver charm in the bag was handmade in Kenya by a local company called Made, who also promotes fair and ethical trade in Africa. All the proceeds from this bag will go to Technoserve in Africa for the Conservation Cotton Initiative. The Conservation Cotton Initiative was created by Edun to build a sustainable farming community in Uganda, by providing funding, tools and training to grow a sustainable cotton business.

Seeing a prestigious and global brand such as Louis Vuitton join forces with a small local brand such as Edun to help Africa build their economy and trade is amazing. Being featured in Louis Vuitton's "Core Value" campaign this fall, Edun's mission and brand values received a lot of press and attention, further spreading the word. It is certainly a great sign that LV is now more involved in Edun's mission to create better working conditions and a sustainable economy in Africa, a continent that can definitely use all the help it needs.

Link to Edun Mission

Link to background info