'Power to write' UNICEF campaign

[Stephany]

Hello everybody!

I'm posting this message in the 'Katherine Jenkins' sub-board because it has nothing to do directly with Hayley but I think it is important to spread the news and I'm sure Hayley would support the idea.

Katherine Jenkins is going to launch a new UNICEF campaign that supports children's literacy projects across the globe to help erase illiteracy. This project is called 'Power to Write' and is done in association with MontBlanc. If you purchase a pen 'Meisterstück 149 UNICEF 2007 Edition', Montblanc will donate $149 to UNICEF education programmes, helping reduce global illiteracy (the price of the pen is extremely high, though! ).

According to Katherine's official website, she will be joining 149 international celebrities, who around the world have committed their time to support the sale of the iconic Meisterstück 149 pen. Among these celebrities are Hélène Grimaud, Helmut Lotti, Lang Lang and many others.

They will appear in Montblanc stores to promote this UNICEF campaign. Katherine will be at the Montblanc Sloane Street Boutique on October 1, 2007 in London.

More info about this campaign on www.montblanc.com

Stephany

[gerrit]

Hmmm, I am webmaster of Katherine Jenkins International, and I for one am not impressed.

I think fighting illiteracy in the world is a great cause - but I don't think the big money people of Montblanc are the right ones to support it.

What will be better to fight illiteracy - 1 pen costing a wicked 400+ pounds (of which Montblanc graciously donate 149 pounds to the campaign), or 1600 pens of good quality, each costing 25p to produce and given out free of charge to people requiring training skills in writing?

I doubt if Montblanc themselves are going to be out of pocket on this campaign - they'll make sure the cost of the pen will be high enough so they can afford to donate 149 pounds to the cause.

If Montblanc are fair dinkum, they should produce an entire run of these pens and donate FULL proceeds to the illiteracy campaign.

I am rather allergic to such luxury products being produced, supposedly in support of a good cause assisting the underprivileged. The luxury of the product is at odds with the aim of the campaign.

I suggest you all read the story Obelix and Co - in which a menhir (an utterly useless piece of rock) becames a status symbol in the Roman world. Pens with price tags as produced by Montblanc fall into that same category - they are utterly useless pieces of writing utensil which nobody really needs. Only, presumably the fact that it is a Montblanc product gives them the necessary status.

I won't be be bothered or tempted to fork out this sort of money for one pen, where the same amount of money will probably suffice to keep me supplied with all my writing needs for the rest of my life - and even would allow me to donate 149 pounds to the illiteracy campaign as part of the bargain.

Hayley went to Ghana a few years ago to support a "bikes for Ghana" campaign. I think a campaign like that is much more worthy of support than this elitist Montblanc campaign.

Gerrit

[gerrit]

Hi All,

I have been thinking a bit more about this issue ....

In recent times, there has been a lot of criticism about China's industrial record. They have been awarded the 2008 Olympic Games, and have been criticised for the possibility of using child labour for the production of promotional products.

At the same time, a large number of children's toys produced in China have been withdrawn from sale in the West, simply because the toys didn't satisfy standards of safety and involved high levels of poisonous substances.

That made me think - was child labour at all involved in producing child toys for children in the Western world???

I dare say the Chinese authorities are denying this - but I am hard pressed to believe them on this point.


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You may say, what has all this to do with the Montblanc pens? Simply this, at the price these pens are being charged, there must be precious metals (gold, silver or platinum) involved, and there must be precious stones (diamonds, rubies, sapphires) involved. Undoubtedly, Montblanc has sourced their precious materials from reputable sources, like the Antwerp and Amsterdam markets.

But .... this precious stuff must be sourced from somewhere .... The precious metal and precious stones must be mined. And I am not at all convinced that the labourers mining this material are always given proper remuneration for their work.

In fact, because a lot of the sources of this material are from less than reputable countries, I sincerely doubt the Montblanc material for this illiteracy campaign is clean. A lot of this precious stuff comes from sources that escapes our rigid Western controls.

In short, I believe there is a distinct possibility that the materials used by Montblanc to create these pens are produced by labourers who may well qualify under the Power to Write scheme themselves, and who themselves may lack the necessary literacy skills to understand they are being taken for a ride.

I am addressing this as a serious point of consideration to Montblanc. Can you guarantee that all the materials you are using for these pens are totally clean? If so, please provide evidence.

Currently I think the Montblanc action is on a par with Canadian fur hunters going for seal fur. Does anyone really need fur dress like that? Does anyone really need pens adorned with precious stones and precious metal.

Does anyone really need to wear an expensive dress adorned with jewels (presumably worth a few millions of pounds) to make a real impression at the Classical Brits?

Gerrit

[toronado]

I for one collect Montblancs, and I will likely be purchasing this one as well. I do so because I feel they are in many ways works of art in and of themselves. The craftsmanship and passion that goes into making them really stands out. The same can be said for their leather goods, of which I am also a big fan. I don't have any problem with the campaign and I think a $300 donation by Montblanc is quite generous, I don't think the margins on something like this are quite as high as you must think. These things are made by hand by skilled artisans and take a long time to complete. As for sourcing their materials, I can't speak for that directly, but in my experience MB has been a very sensitive company. As there are no precious stones in this particular pen, and very little precious metal (it's almost entirely their patented resin), I doubt very much that the scenario you describe is really an issue in this case. I don't need pieces like this obviously, but I indulge in them because, like music, I enjoy the artistic expression they embody. MB has long been, and still is a very generous supporter of the arts in all forms.