The do good factor

The demand for products that give a bit back is rising

Claudia Croft
How does a cult Mulberry Roxanne bag made of canvas and costing less than £100 grab you? Can you imagine the envy this limited-edition beauty would elicit if it were swinging from your arm? And the corresponding smugness, as you reminded yourself it cost you a sixth of the price of a leather Roxanne? But let’s suppress that competitive fashion spirit for a moment, because this is more than just a trendy tote. This little It bag could save someone’s life. If you buy one, 50% of your money will go to the (RED) initiative, the Bono-backed scheme to raise money for antiretroviral drugs and HIV/Aids charities in Africa.

It’s just one of several edgy, fashion-led (RED) pieces that will be on sale in Gap stores this Christmas. Among the others are a kooky Giles T-shirt, pointy patent pumps by the shoe maestro Pierre Hardy, printed tops by Henry Holland and Proenza Schouler, and a traditional fishing hat from the catwalk milliner Stephen Jones. Gap’s (RED) range was the idea of its European supremo, Steve Sunnucks, and the Pop magazine editor and superstylist Katie Grand, who asked her favourite fashion friends to come up with a special piece for the charity. Forget hair shirts – charity fashion never looked so good.

For Grand, though, the desirability of the Gap (RED) range is just a happy byproduct. “It was about the cause more than anything,” she says. “In the early 1990s, when I first moved to London to go to St Martins, I lived in a house with seven men, five of whom contracted HIV. They are all still alive now, thanks to the advances in antiretroviral drugs.” Some weren’t so lucky. “Three people on my course died of Aids. At one point, it was a weekly occurrence for someone to announce that they were HIV-positive.”

From Bill Clinton’s bestselling book, Giving, to Oxfam’s Unwrapped campaign (where the likes of Helena Bonham Carter and Helen Mirren urge you to give a loo, some compost or a box of condoms;

www.oxfam.org.uk), it has never been more fashionable to do your bit for charity. And, as the founders of the (RED) initiative (which has raised £24.3m in 18 months) know, what better way to give than to buy? Increasingly, consumers are demanding designer objects that have the “do-good” factor, be it T-shirts to help cure cancer, jeans that put children through school or a bag that delays the onset of Aids in HIV patients.

Grand is not the only one putting a gloss on giving. For the second year running, Gucci has joined forces with Unicef to produce a special range of bags and shoes. The Burberry designer Christopher Bailey has produced T-shirts to raise money for victims of the summer floods. Thierry Henry has teamed up with Tommy Hilfiger to produce a credible menswear range that goes way beyond boring basics. All the profits go to Henry’s One 4 All Foundation, which combats racism and social inequality. The hip LA brand Omni Peace gives 50% of its profits to poverty-busting projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Elsewhere, George Bush’s niece, Lauren Bush, has joined forces with the UN World Food Programme to launch the Feed bag – you buy a natty shopper and a child in need receives school lunches for a year.

It doesn’t stop at fashion. Selfridges is stocking Amnesty International Christmas gift packs (a CD of John Lennon cover versions, plus a T-shirt). For £9.99, you can buy a plate designed by Coldplay to raise money for WaterAid. There’s even a charity vodka, produced by Grey Goose, in a bottle designed by Giorgio Armani. It is sold exclusively in Harvey Nichols and proceeds go to the Elton John Aids Foundation.

Who would have thought it? It seems shopping is now the balm that heals everything. (RED) products available from Gap from Dec 1;