There was a really good story in the WSJ this past week that kind of deflates my Edun-loving bubble. You all know Edun by now of course — the eco and Africa friendly line of clothing spearheaded by Bono and wife, Ali Hewson, now owned by LVMH. I do go on about it quite a lot.
As much as they are really trying to stimulate African growth with this fashion line, they are running into the same issues that every fashion line on the continent seems to face — lack of high quality, on time, yet affordable production.
As a result much of the manufacturing of the line is taking place in Asia this season with only 15% happening on our continent. I am unutterably sad about this. And I also understand. Business is business. And if much of the proceeds come back to the continent, they had better make sure it sells.
The intent is to raise the levels of training and capability here and then slowly start bringing more and more back onto the continent. I really hope that they do.
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Pics by Getty.