Today in Misguided Charity Marketing

Our office has a great culture of forwarding news articles, studies, and photographs that run the full gamut offbeat, thought-provoking, tasteless, heartfelt, and inside-jokey.  Yesterday, my boss sent around the following Macy's advertisement which he'd received from a friend who had previously lived in Rwanda.

Before I get to ranting, let me say that my intention is not to denigrate the "Path to Peace" organization which sells its wares through Macy's stores and websites.  There are many organizations in Rwanda who combine craft products/fashion, reconciliation, development, health, the whole shebang.  Some of them (like the Rwanda/Spanish fashion house, Mille Collines, run by friends of mine) are great.  Some aren't.  I have no way of knowing whether this particular project actually "changes communities" the way it says it does or whether its artisans get paid marginally more than they usually would and middle men pocket the rest.  It IS hard to dispute that their wares are truly beautiful.  I don't take umbrage at the organization itself.  I just think its ad was marketed by Macy's in a stupidly offensive way.

 

Rant Point #1 - Shop for a better world.  Let's just be honest.  Nobody shops for a better world.  You shop for shit to put on your body, on your front hallway table, your bookshelf.  'Path to Peace' didn't partner with Macy's because Macy's customers have a strong history of giving back.  They partnered with Macy's because Macy's customers have a strong history of buying shit.  And not just any shit.  Expensive shit that makes them look impressive in the eyes of their friends/enemies/frenimies.  When you want to contribute selflessly to a cause, you give money to an organization like DonorsChoose, where all you get in return is a thank-you email and that elusive "inner pride" thing my 8th grade science teacher always gave for winning review games.  

Why does buying things from "Africa" always have to make people feel good?  Do people have to believe that they're helping end hunger or AIDS or [insert your cause here] in order to purchase a product made in Africa?  Whatever happened to good old fashioned capitalism?  These baskets don't need to be "symbolic of the country's success".  They shouldn't need to be symbolic of anything.  The baskets these woman make are beautiful and stand on their own.  I don't need to buy one of these baskets because they help a woman buy health insurance, I can buy one because they're freaking baller.  I've given many of these types of baskets to people as gifts over the years and never because I wanted to make the world a better place.  They're well made and aesthetically pleasing.  That's enough for me, and it should be enough for Macy's customers.

Rant Point #2 - Free Shipping.  Well hell, if I can shop for a better world AND get free shipping [exclusions apply], what am I doing just sitting here on my office-chair cushy ass?

Rant Point #3 - A Happy Anniversary.  You know what?  F*** you, Mr. Macy's Marketing Man.  This line is so erroneous and offensive and just DUMB.  First of all, if you're going to allude to the genocide as a marketing scheme, at least have the balls to write the word somewhere on the ad.  As much as it would be great to think that all Macy's customers have a basic understanding of the genocide in 1994, it's just not true.  I mean, I knew a woman who came to Rwanda in 2007 to run an organization and she somehow made it off the PLANE without knowing about the genocide (this is a true story, I swear to God).

You know, I never can remember - am I supposed to give linen or leather for a 17th genocide anniversary?  Maybe it's paper or bronze....Come ON.  I was in Kigali in April for this so-called Anniversary of 17 Years of Peace and there was very little mirth, rejoicing, or general merriment.  There were, however, a lot of people somberly recounting the last time they saw a friend, sleeping in bushes to hide from murderers, and lots of death.  It's not a "happy" anniversary any way you skew it.  Putting a picture of two smiling women (why are they always smiling?) in your ad doesn't change that fact.  Not to mention that Rwanda saw several years of civil unrest following the 100 days of the genocide, so even the "17 years of peace" concept is, at best, historically inaccurate.

MilleColline's collection @ Anthropologie

People working with African handicraft makers to broaden their tourist customer base into a global one are often doing good work.  Africa represents an astonishing range of cultures each with lots to share with the world and although almost all of what's out there is based purely on an African aesthetic (jewelry, decorative items like these baskets, fashion), it's been encouraging in the past few years to see parts of the continent at least represented in the global market.  But the products that come out of Africa should sell based on their own merits and not on the concept of charity.  Consumers should buy items they would purchase anyway, and African producers should make items at a quality that deserves a rightful place among leather bags from Italy, perfume from America, and whatever other expensive stuff Macy's sells.

Rwanda's leadership has made it clear that their country doesn't need charity development, charity education, or a charity GDP.  It needs (and demands) real development, real education, and a real GDP.  So thanks, but no thanks, Macy's.  However, next time you want to market a product from Rwanda, call me.  I've got plenty of ideas.