C28 and EDUN -- jesus at the mall

this from my colleague david w. miller: a new company called C28 that has as its mission to open christian stores in malls. they sell clothes and accessories aimed broadly at the adolescent and early adult market. one of their stores is here:

one of their key logo items is this:

notw stands for "not of this world." his aim: provide something hip but that expresses something rooted in christian ideals rather than wearing an ambercrombie or old navy or nike logo on one's shirt or hat or whatever. fine, sort of. i guess i'm more interested in subverting the whole marketing thing of 'i've got to have that latest cool thing' even if in this case it is a 'christian' thing. but does the label make something christian? what about jesus saying that the strict religious people of his day were white-washed on the outside but rotten on the inside? where are the clothes made? what is the profit structure of the company?

along these lines, it is worth noting that bono and his wife, ali, have started their own clothing line and it does not have hip christian symbols on it, exactly. the name of the brand, edun, is nude spelled backwards, and more importantly, I think, is very close to eden. bono has more than once said that it wasn't god who kicked us out of the garden of eden but we who kicked god out in a fit of adolescent hubris. we've screwed up ourselves, our relationships with others, and with the earth, but we can also by grace grow up and act differently. that is what edun is about. growing up as friends of god who wish to do something that changes the inequality between clothing producers and clothing consumers. this is deeply tied to bono's nonprofit organization data (debit, aids, trade. africa) that aims to highlight that poor african nations need fair trade as much as charity. here is a bit more info from the saks fifth avenue

anon and peace

Comments

[Sean]

"but does the label make something christian? what about jesus saying that the strict religious people of his day were white-washed on the outside but rotten on the inside? where are the clothes made? what is the profit structure of the company? "

I work for C28 & NOTW. If you are serious about these questions, feel free to email me: sean@notw.com. I'm not rich, I barely pay the bills, yet I work for this company because I believe in its message.

[andy]

I believe in it as well. ;)

[Vince]

To date, over 9,000 people have been saved in or through C28, and thousands more prayed over daily. C28 is bringing the Gospel to poeple who normally wouldn't hear it.
Is it of God to judge those working for His kingdom? What about slandering them all over the internet, without providing such information as I have given?
...I wonder how "Christian" this website is..
www.c28.com/salvations

[Chris]

Hi, folks. I just thought I'd say a word. Wow, is raising questions off limits? Vince says I'm acting "to judge those working for His kingdom." Not really. Notice how in my post I ask questions? I sincerely want to know and no one has addressed the concerns I raise. Faith as a Way of Life, the program I direct here at Yale, tries to ask about our faithfulness in "all spheres of life" and that means asking how businesses are run, not just if their products proclaim Christ. Christians who emphasize evangelism don't historically put social justice concerns first, but Bono has been changing this, along with many others. People from C28--instead of accusing me of slander, help me out! I can't find anything on the C28 website except number of people saved (9425, which is great!) My comparison to Edun is because I'm also interested in corporate structure, in sourcing materials and production and so on. Those are questions "of this world" and I simply wonder how those are addressed in a company that is active in the clothing merchandise industry. When I learn the truth, I'll do a new post and tell the story of what C28 is doing.
Peace,
Chris

[Maren]

Hi there, I am a graphic designer for C28/ NOTW. I work to design a large portion of their clothing, shoes, and accessories. Since you asked for more information, I would be happy to tell you what I know! Though I do not work in sourcing, I can tell you that C28 as a company works much the same way that a secular company does- they source their materials, tees, etc from companies who can provide them the best price while maintaining ethical business practices. I can tell you firsthand that ethics is key. A few well-known brands are no longer sold with C28 due to unethical business practices, etc. I can also tell you that though they source things in China (shoes for example) they most certainly are not using child labor or anything of the sort, as our employees have taken many trips to visit the factories, etc. firsthand. In fact, one of our major shoe suppliers in China is in fact a Christian man who has prayed for 35 years for God to send him an opportunity to do His work in the shoe industry, and along came NOTW! He is so excited that he is now working to import NOTW goods into Asia, so that the good word can be spread!
I can also tell you that in addition to a large percentage of profits going to outreach ministries, that the owner donates the majority of his freetime to speaking at various churches, organizations, and events simply to make a difference in society, and for no profit! Employees are encouraged to do the same- many volunteer by leading youth groups, Bible studies, or simply by volunteering their weekends to work at Christian concerts and events. Everyone is eager to donate what they can, when they can. We all strive to make a social difference at C28, as God has told us to do.
The only problem C28 runs into, generally, is cost. Though the name has a large impact, the fact is, it is still a very small company. Only about 20 corporate office employees. When manufacturing apparel goods, people want you to do BIG numbers, or have the name and funding behind the POTENTIAL for big numbers (Aka Bono and his apparent Saks Fifth Ave partnership) The fact is, your average Christian WONT PAY Saks prices for a Tshirt line. Most, in fact, complain that a $19 shirt is too overpriced. This limits C28 on using new, experimental materials, like environmentally friendly bamboo for shoes, etc. Basically, minimums are high, and until NOTW goes international, they are stuck using the same sources as many small brands. But they are definitely out to change the world in their own way!