Already known for being one of the world’s greatest performers as well as activist, it’s no surprise that U2’s Bono has teamed with EDUN – an ethical t-shirt company co-founded by his wife, Ali Hewson and Hard Rock International to launch a new signature series with proceeds benefiting African cotton farmers and the build trade in Africa.
Being the 25th artist in Hard Rock’s Signature Series, which started in 1990, Bono joins the ranks of Sting, Eric Clapton, Ozzy Osbourne, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen and Green Day, all of whom helped to raise millons of dollars for various charities throughout the world. Crossroads Centre, World Hunger Year, Antigua and Amnesty International are some of the previous charitable causes that have benefited through this line.
The concept of the signature series is to team up with a musician or band who will create and then donate their own unique designs that will be reproduced onto t-shirts for the purpose of raising money for a charity of the artist’s choice.
An edun LIVE t-shirt will be featured in the latest signature series, which will feature Bono’s special design – a fish that soars through the moon and stars with the quote “fish can fly…”, along with Bono’s signature. The shirt will also have “Edition XXV” printed on one side. Made from 100% African cotton, the shirt will be available in black for men’s sizes and in white for women’s sizes.
Edun, launched in the Spring of 2005 by Bono and his wife Ali Hewso
n, is a socially conscious clothing company that aims to design and create appealing clothes while still fostering sustainable employment in areas of the world, such as Africa, that are in a stage of development. Edun LIVE t-shirts were also launched in 2005 to drive more trade into Africa while making shirts that are 100 % African produced.
The Conservation Cotton Initiative (CCI), established in 2007 by Edun and the Wildlife Conservation Society, will be one organization benefiting from the sales of the Bono Signature Series. CCI makes a difference by promoting greater investment in ethical and reasonable production of conservation-friendly agricultural products, while also focusing on cotton that can either grow organically or through methods that are transitioning from the more conventional ways to organic production.
Working on sustainable conservation farming with farmers in Madagascar, Uganda and Zambia, the 
Wildlife Conservation Society also works with Edun in the same countries to help the farmers apply these same methods when growing cotton.
For more information on Hard Rock’s Signature Series program, visit www.hardrock.com.
Available starting January 7, 2008, you can order Bono’s Signature Series T-shirt at www.hardrock.com/rockshop or pick one up at Hard Rock Shops, Cafes, Hotels and Casinos.
For more information on Edun, visit www.edunonline.com.
For more information on edun Live, visit www.edun-live.com. For more information on the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Conservation Cotton Initiative, visit www.wcs.org.
