PRODUCT RED An organization on the global civil society arena and the global market arena

Abstract: PRODUCT RED is an aid organization that defines itself as a business strategy. PRODUCT RED's goal is to create a sustainable flow of capital from the private sector to the Global Fund to aid women and children suffering from HIVAIDS in Africa. They approach this by managing a branding mechanism that gives out a license to use the brand name RED to companies. In return, the company signs up to donate a percentage of the profits for PRODUCT RED items to the Global Fund. It is up to the consumer to choose if he/she wants to contribute to the cause by selecting RED. This thesis investigates how the organization is an actor on both the arena of the Global Civil Society and the Global Market, through consumerism. PRODUCT RED's relationship with its partners, the Global Fund and its consumers, and the power vested in them through consumer power, show how the organizations position is structured. PRODUCT RED is generating a theoretical tension because of its position in between the two arenas. The organization is being forced to oblige to two sets of rules which at times creates problems for them, but at other times the position they have taken is an advantage to them and the cause.