Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Not a Paid Announcement...


The other day while I was browsing in the Hallmark store for Valentines and birthday cards for my sisters, I found this great looking little tote. It's made out of African mud cloth, produced in Mali by dying fabric with actual mud. It's usually brownish, not black like this, but otherwise looks quite genuine to me. Hallmark is having a special promotion of a line of products, cards and gifts, with the label RED. Part of the proceeds goes to help fight AIDS in Africa. I couldn't pass up the chance to buy some of this cloth, already made into something, Mud cloth products are expensive, even in Africa, and it's a good cause, although I could be cynical about what percent of the money actually gets to Africa. Nevertheless, I bought two, one for myself, and one to solve the problem of a sister B-day gift. Maybe some other fabric lovers might like to know about it. And by the way, if you want a laugh, I strongly recommend the comic birthday cards section. It works for me every time.

3 comments:

allie aller said...

Well, good for Hallmark!

One thing I love about everyone's photos is that we all take pictures of our projects on the cutting mats that are naturally on all of our tables.
For some reason this just tickles me....it's like we are all in the same room, somehow...

jenclair said...

Love the purse! I do wonder about the per centage of profit on these things that make it to the designated charity. I saw some interviews that indicated that the RED project was very profitable for lots of people, and less so for the charity. Disillusioning.

Nettie said...

Great bag. If i lived in the States, i'd go check them out. You know, the *normal* greeting card section at Hallmark stores is what truly cracks me up. Once my sister and i went in there looking for a suitable Father's Day card (long, tragic story) and all those messages "e.g. You were always there for me!" had us in wiping away tears of laughter.