Zazzle and Edun Live Expand Partnership, Roll Out Campaign to Engage African Designers and Help Leading Charity
Zazzle and Edun Live Expand Partnership, Roll Out Campaign to Engage African Designers and Help Leading Charity
Proceeds of African-Made Designs Sold on Edun Live T-Shirts to Support “Invisible Children”
Redwood City, Calif. – June 3, 2010 – Zazzle, the leading platform for quality custom products, today announced that it has expanded its partnership with Edun Live, the sustainable t-shirt brand founded by Ali Hewson and her husband Bono. Edun Live and Zazzle are engaging artists to create a wide range of designs related to Africa and soccer/football. All designs will be submitted by African designers, and will be sold on only African Edun Live blank t-shirts. Proceeds will go to Invisible Children, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial resources to children by documenting their true, untold stories in a creative and relevant way, resulting in positive change.
The new designs, available online at /edunlive, will be printed on Edun Live's 100 percent certified organic cotton t-shirts, and each of the designers will receive income from each sale, consistent with Zazzle user terms. Ten percent of all proceeds will be donated to Invisible Children. The designers represented include:
- Zetuzakale Productions, a group of East African designers whose inception evolves a dream of design and creative perceptions from African themes. Zetu-za-kale is derived from Swahili words that mean "ours from the past" and it is from the past that we draw our inspiration.
- · Bonk is a Kenyan clothing company that designs and makes tees and bags for the coolest Nairobi crowds. All designs are sketched-up, colored with funktitude and produced in Kenya by a sizzled ensemble of Kenyans: Ashi Kariuki, Aika-Grace Temu, and Fady Rostom.
- · Jamburi Wear founder and designer Kimathi was raised in 1980s Nairobi, Kenya. He credits his Mum for piquing his sense of style, Leaders from elsewhere across cultures and disciplines also count as inspirations Fashion designers Ralph Lauren and Nigo (Bathing Ape), visual artist Yinka Shinobare, business maverick Richard Branson and perhaps most profoundly, Nigerian afro beat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti. "Fela, to me was a style icon," muses Kimathi, "and he is probably our biggest icon. He was Africa cool before it was even cool to be African."
- G1 Media is a robust, design company based in Uganda with a unique perspective covering design, creativity, innovation, and consumer psychology. G1 Media believes effective design is somewhat like a composition written for a symphony orchestra, in that it requires several instruments working symbiotically in order to achieve the desired result.
- David Ssengendo is a fine Ugandan artist and graphic designer with a background in painting, printmaking, and illustration. He has shown his work in the All Artists Exhibition at the Nomo Gallery in Kampala and has done illustration for Macmillan Uganda.
- Paul Douglas Kihiko is a graffiti artist and designer who is currently working as an artist coordinator with the British Council in Kenya. In addition to doing commissioned artwork for various organizations in Nairobi, he has also done freelance graffiti and design for a wide range of clientele.
Details of the economics of the partnership:
- 10% of every sale will be donated to Invisible Children through July 30, 2010
- All products will be listed at the standard retail price, and Designers/Sellers will receive 10% revenue-share based on Zazzle's standard User Agreement
- Designers/Sellers may also receive 15% affiliate fee based on Zazzle's standard User Agreement
Launched in spring 2005, EDUN's mission is to help build Africa as a viable source of production for fashion. Founded on the premise of trade for aid, EDUN is a for profit business that aims to raise awareness of the possibilities in Africa to encourage emulation. To help achieve this goal, EDUN is investing in the development of a community-based value chain, beginning with organic cotton. In 2007 the company launched EDUN LIVE, a blank tee shirt division that is 100% "grow to sew" African produced.
Invisible Children Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial resources to invisible children by documenting their true, untold stories in a creative and relevant way, resulting in positive change.
Supporting Quote
"Zazzle is always excited to work with notable organizations whose missions resonate with our core values, and both Edun Live and Invisible Children certainly fall into this category," commented Jeff Beaver, co-founder and chief product officer at Zazzle. "One of Zazzle's primary aims is to empower individuals, both our consumers and Sellers, in making a difference in people's lives. We look forward to engaging with more African entrepreneurs and charitable organizations and feel lucky to have the opportunity to contribute positively to their communities."
About Zazzle
Zazzle is the world's leading platform for quality custom products. Zazzle's proprietary technology enables individuals, professional artists, and major brands, including Disney and Hallmark, to create and offer billions of unique products for customers worldwide. Zazzle's rapidly expanding product base covers every topic imaginable and includes Father's Day gifts, custom shirts, business cards, and invites, in addition to a variety of other gifts. Upon creation, products are instantly and accurately visualized on the site and offered in the Zazzle marketplace. When ordered, each product is made on-demand, typically within 24 hours. Launched in 2005 and based in Redwood City, California, Zazzle's vision is to redefine commerce, powered by the world's imagination.
Zazzle global sites are www.zazzle.com, www.zazzle.co.jp, www.zazzle.co.uk, www.zazzle.com.au, www.zazzle.ca, www.zazzle.de, www.zazzle.fr, www.zazzle.es, www.zazzle.pt, www.zazzle.com.br, & www.zazzle.co.nz.
©2010 Zazzle Inc. All Rights Reserved. Zazzle and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Zazzle Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trade names mentioned herein are recognized to be the properties of their respective owners.
2010-06-03
