Private company
Product Red
Logo: Red, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3
Brand that engages firms to eliminate HIV/AIDS in Africa
Product Red is a licensed brand by the company Red that seeks to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries, namely Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. It is licensed to partner companies including Nike, American Express (UK), Converse, Electronic Arts, Primark, Head, Buckaroo, Penguin Classics (UK & International), Gap, Armani, Hallmark (US), SAP, and Supercell.2 It is headquartered in New York City.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0
Last updated Oct 21, 2026.
Overview
- HeadquartersNew York City1
- Websitewww.red.org
See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards
Product Red is a licensed brand by the company Red that seeks to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds to help eliminate HIV/AIDS in eight African countries, namely Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia. It is licensed to partner companies including Nike, American Express (UK), Converse, Electronic Arts, Primark, Head, Buckaroo, Penguin Classics (UK & International), Gap, Armani, Hallmark (US), SAP, and Supercell.2
Products and brands
- brand
Listed on Wikidata.1
Products include:
Bugaboo International. A design company that makes pushchairs for infants and toddlers. Bugaboo contributes 1% of its total revenue to The Global Fund.
American Express Red card. Launched in 2006. 1% of spending is donated to the Global Fund.
Gap sells a line of merchandise including T-shirts, jackets, scarves, gloves, jewelry, bags, and purses. Gap donates 50% of all Product Red profits directly to the Global Fund.
Read the full text
Converse is selling a shoe made from African mud cloth.
Giorgio Armani has announced a line of Emporio Armani products that include clothes, jewelry, perfume, and accessories. 40 percent of the gross profit goes to the Global Fund.
Motorola has announced special editions of their Slvr, Krzr and Razr mobile phones, with a 50% profit of each purchase going to the Global Fund.
Canon released a version of their SD990 camera along with a leather case in 2008/2009. Only 500 were produced.
The Independent published a special issue in 2006, in collaboration with Product Red, and 50% of its revenue was donated to the Global Fund.
The Hotel Café tour is presented by MySpace and Product Red.
Apple Inc. released a special edition iPod Touch 5th generation with a Product Red theme. Subsequently, they have released several Product Red devices and accessories. On 29 October 2013, Apple created and donated a one-of-a-kind Red Mac Pro computer, which was auctioned by Sotheby's at the Red Auction on 23 November 2013 for $977,000 (Sotheby's had estimated it would bring $40,000–60,000). A one-of-a-kind pair of solid gold Apple EarPods were auctioned for $461,000. Apple sold a Product Red iPhone XR and claims to have donated almost $250 million to the Global Fund. The iPhone 11, iPhone SE (2nd generation), iPhone 12, iPhone 13, iPhone SE (3rd generation), and iPhone 14 all have red colors as part of Product Red. As of February 2025, Apple has not made any further Product Red devices.
Nike has released a special line of red shoelaces, with the profit going to the charity. Their motto is "Lace up, save lives."
Hallmark has introduced greeting cards that are Product Red.
In a partnership with Microsoft, Dell announced that it would manufacture versions of its computers (XPS One, XPS M1530, and XPS M1330) that would come with a Product Red version of Windows Vista Ultimate preinstalled. The company also released a Product Red printer.
Microsoft would later release the Product Red version of Windows Vista Ultimate as a standalone product.
Girl Skateboard Company released a two-part deck series with a Product Red graphic. A share of the profit goes to the charities.
Starbucks participated during their 2008 holiday promotion. For every beverage bought on December 1 (World AIDS Day), 5 pennies went to Product Red. Starbucks also offers the Red Card, and donates five pennies every time the card is used.
American rock band the Killers released yearly Christmas songs from 2006 to 2016, with 10 original songs and a cover of "I'll Be Home for Christmas". A compilation album of all their Christmas singles called Don't Waste Your Wishes was released in November 2016, in aid of Red. One hundred percent of profits from the album are given to the charity.
Monster Cable made special edition of Beats by Dr. Dre Solo HD with name Solo HD Product Red.
Carolina Bucci has created a special edition of her gold and silk Lucky bracelets. 50 percent of the profit goes directly to the Global Fund.
Tourneau created two special edition watches, with 15% of the retail price contributed to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Belvedere Vodka produces special edition Product Red bottles which is designed by South African Artist, Esther Mahlangu. A portion of the proceeds go to Product Red.
Head produces special Red tennis bags as part of the Product Red project.
In 2014, U2 released a charity single "Invisible", and a Super Bowl commercial to announce the partnership between Red and Bank of America.
From November 24 to December 7, 2014, some iOS games, such as PewDiePie's Tuber Simulator, Angry Birds, Cut the Rope 2, The Sims FreePlay, and Clash of Clans partnered with Product Red. During this time, 100% of revenue from microtransactions was donated to the Global Fund.
In 2017, Amazon created a Red limited edition of the Echo speaker to support the Global Fund. In November 2020 a newer version of Echo Product Red was revealed.
From Wikipedia’s article on Product Red, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4
Controversies and legal
Criticism
Product Red has been widely criticized for not having an effect proportional to the advertising investment, for being much less efficient than direct charitable contribution, and for having a lack of transparency with regards to the amount of money going to charity as a percentage of every purchase. Some critics argue that a retail middleman between donor and charity is unnecessary; donors should just give.
For example, some argued that Gap's website encouraged consumption of the products, thus encouraging companies to use the product for publicity rather than social responsibility. While Product Red has helped give funds and attention to the problem, it does not form a relationship between the donors and recipients. Scholars argue that this sacrifices the purpose of movements such as Product Red. Jessica Wirgau, a professor at Virginia Tech stated, "Red not only misses the opportunity to promote civic engagement with its audience but also... gives corporations the power to decide which causes should be supported and to what degree."
Another critique is that Product Red's expansion into traditional fundraising techniques, such as art auctions, undermines its claim to be a different and more sustainable approach to raising money for AIDS. Other critics have pointed out that its emphasis on funding treatment for AIDS sufferers meant that large amounts of the money will ultimately end up with pharmaceutical companies "unwilling to distribute their drugs for free". Many accuse the campaign of profiting by using diseases as a marketing vehicle, for being "cause branding" rather than corporate social responsibility. In the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Mark Rosenman wrote that it was an "example of the corporate world aligning its operations with its central purpose of increasing shareholder profit, except this time it is being cloaked in the patina of philanthropy."
The National Labor Committee for Worker and Human Rights criticized Product Red for its links with Gap, which was historically a target of anti-sweatshop activists, although anti-sweatshop organization Labour Behind the Label states that Gap has "come further than many" clothing companies to counter exploitation. Gap's Product Red clothes are made in Lesotho rather than China, going beyond the requirements of Product Red. Labour Behind the Label criticized Product Red for not requiring more measures to protect the rights of the workers who make their products.
Data released in 2007 by Advertising Age claimed retail participants in Product Red including Gap, Motorola and Apple had invested $100 million in advertising and raised only $18 million for The Global Fund. In July 2010, however, Red claimed to have raised over $150 million.
In an attempt to combat the critics, particularly regarding Product Red's Transparency, around 2008, they implemented a calculator to show consumers how many doses of treatment would be received with the purchase of a Red Product. With this, some have stated that "the campaign offers the illusion of activism without requiring behavioral changes or political engagement". While these critics show that there are negative aspects of this program, they also state that "it finds a way to generate something positive out of the currently existent system".
From Wikipedia’s article on Product Red, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4
Timeline
- 2006Founded Founded1
Links
- Websitewww.red.org1
- X (Twitter)x.com/RED1
- Facebookwww.facebook.com/joinred1
- Instagramwww.instagram.com/red1
- WikipediaProduct Red
- More imagesWikimedia Commons
- WikidataQ624601
Sources
The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.
- 1WikidataProduct Red on Wikidata
- 2WikipediaProduct Red on Wikipedia
- 3Wikimedia CommonsProduct Red logo by Red, Public domain
- 4