Teino Evans, Staff reporter

A model sports a Jones Jamaica design - contributed photos

You have seen the campaign T-shirts, the green ones representing the Jamaica Labour Party with pictures of their candidates and party leader, and the orange ones representing the People's National Party with pictures of their candidates and party leader.

But a new T-shirt line has been introduced into the political fanfare.

Jones Jamaica, a T-shirt company which started in Jamaica and is now based in the United States, has dedicated their One Jamaica T-shirt line, which seeks to strike a balance, as they 'big up' both major political parties in Jamaica, while promoting peaceful campaigning and elections.

Election tension

According to Daniel Jones, owner of Jones Jamaica, he is well aware of the negative tensions that usually surround the general election.

"What happened is that I grew up in the garrisons, my father was an area leader in Kingston 13 for one of the political parties (PNP), so I saw everything and how it happened," Jones said.

He added: "When I went to live in Portmore the JLP, the other side, courtedme to run for Councillor for South East St. Catherine and Mr. Sangster himself even gave me a letter of recommendation to take to JPS where I got my first job after leaving sixth form."

But while admitting to being a product of both sides (PNP and JLP), Jones feels that persons "should use politics to their advantage and not have politics divide us. So I was really passionate about the whole thing."

Great Design

The One Jamaica t-shirt is the latest in representing what is uniquely Jamaican, he says, as the 'T' is a well-needed political intervention. The 'T' displays JLP and PNP on one shirt under the banner of ONE JAMAICA.

Jones says he felt it necessary to enter the political debate because, "we would never ever want to see a repeat of the bloodshed that took place during the 1980 election. People were being slaughtered for no other reason other than that they were affiliated with a particular political party. Both political parties were unable to stop the mass killings because of the stigma that became attached to partisan politics in Jamaica."

Therefore, it might not be surprising when Jones says, "the people who are in their 30s are the ones who were the first to really gravitate towards the T-shirts," but since, many of the youngsters have caught on, making their primary market those between the ages of 18-30.

Adding, "persons in Jamaica who are interested can visit our sites for more about us at www.myspace.com/JonesTownJamaica or www.jonesjamaica clothing.com or email us at JonesJamaica@yahoo.com"

Jones says they have not yet been able to break into the Jamaican market, but the T-shirts "have been doing well in the U.S urban market."

He says, "we started out with about 250 shirts, they were printed by Cooyah and we have since shipped over 2,000 One Jamaica T-shirts."

One of these T-shirts is priced at US$20 but Jones says he leaves it up to the retailers to decide the price in Jamaica.

However, if Jones' plans are realised, where the One Jamaica T-shirt becomes instrumental in softening the harsh stigma associated with political affiliation, "then for the first time in Jamaica's history both political party supporters will be able to wear a T-shirt, which displays the names of their party and the name of the rivals party symbolising ONE JAMAICA."

So Jones says, "the real idea is that I believe in upliftment in Jamaica and peace, because yuh know how much people want to come back and live in Jamaica?"

But Jones is also hoping for the real value of the One Jamaica campaign to be realised when both party leaders endorse the One Jamaica campaign.

"We want to make a public appeal for Bruce and Portia to endorse this venture even though time is short and even though it is important now for the election, we hope our effort to promote One Jamaica will go beyond the election."

Jones says his T-shirt company draws on designs from the Jamaican experience and symbols like the breadfruit, the humming bird, the copper one cent, village ram to name a few.

And the company, which has been in existence since 1999, continues to show its commitment to producing clothing which are a hundred per cent Jamaican.