‘Happy’ singer Pharrell Williams will perform a one-night only private concert and launch a Sustainable T-shirt Design Competition with retailer Woolworths.
Announcing the collaboration‚ Woolworths Holdings CEO Ian Moir said in a statement the Grammy Award-winning musician “takes on the role of Style Director in a ground-breaking collaboration across a series of sustainability-focused projects”.
“Pharrell is a global icon for social cohesion‚ advancement through education and environmental awareness – these same values lie at the heart of our business and form the foundation on which this partnership is built. We hope Pharrell will help us make sustainability cool for the next generation of South Africans…‚” said Moir.
The call-to-action for the collaboration with Williams is “Are you with us?” and it asks customers to pledge their allegiance and support for the Woolworths Good Business Journey‚ which was first launched in 2007 and is a commitment to ethical trade‚ sustainable farming and production methods‚ and social responsibility.
There are four legs to the campaign:
GIVE: Raising R100 million for schools in need across South Africa‚ by signing up the retailer’s MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet cards.
CREATE: Sustainable T-shirt Design Competition Woolies has collaborated with Bionic Yarn®‚ a company that creates fabric out of recycled plastic waste‚ to create a range of limited edition‚ sustainable t-shirts. Design students are invited to create and submit designs for these t-shirts that celebrate sustainability. Pharrell will select his favourite designs and these will be produced and sold in Woolies stores across the country. Winners will each receive R25‚000 in prize money.
SING: School singing groups are invited to practice their songs and get ready to compete to win an opportunity to perform live alongside Pharrell Williams during his MySchool concert tour of South Africa. “Entrants will be shortlisted and chosen personally by Pharrell to appear alongside him on stage in September as part of an exclusive concert for WRewards Members only‚” the Woolies statement read.
WIN: Signed up customers stand a chance to see Williams perform live at a private concert. Further details are yet to be released about the one-night-only show.
Williams‚ in the statement‚ was quoted as saying: “Earlier this year at Davos‚ we announced the launch of ‘Harmonising Humanity’. To call together everyone around the world who believes that a better tomorrow is possible when we all do our part. For those who believe in clean lakes‚ rivers and oceans – who care where their products come from – and who are giving to make sure every kid gets the best shot at a great education.
This is very near to my heart. We want to bring together everyone who cares about making a difference”.
“South Africa‚ are you with us?”
