Thinking about Pink

Lately, I've started seeing red...about pink. I am talking about all of the products that get stamped with a pink ribbon or manufactured of pink plastic or printed in pink ink, in the name of breast cancer research.


The campaign began in good faith in the early 1990's when the fashion of wearing ribbon loops took hold with the popularity of the red AIDS awareness ribbon. (Actually, it can be traced even further back to the yellow ribbons that signified the Americans held hostage in Iran in 1979. And, those were inspired by the Tony Orlando and Dawn song, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Old Oak Tree.")

About the same time, Susan G. Komen for the Cure was using pink as their signature color and things began to take off from there. Self Magazine editor Alexandra Penney teamed up with Evelyn Lauder, senior vice-president of Estee Lauder cosmetics, to start a campaign to increase awareness of breast cancer using the pink ribbon loop and the symbol was widely adopted.

However, sometime in the past decade, the annual "Hunt for Pink October" has reached ridiculous heights. I have noticed this trend for the past several years and have found it increasingly distasteful. I have hesitated to speak up for fear of offending those who are out there in the trenches, raising money for medical research. But I have finally decided that those are very people who should be offended - by these things that trivialize their efforts.

http://www.officemax.com/

For instance, Office Max has introduced this special stapler. See the pink trim and the little pink ribbon? Don't you  feel all warm and fuzzy because the folks at Office Max are such generous corporate citizens? It can't be that they want to sell more staplers.

http://www.sephora.com/

How would you like a pink eyelash curler? It's from Sephora. By the way, a search of their site shows lots of pink. You can also get a Clarisonic skincare brush, a "pop up" hairbrush, and a special edition of Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster.

Yes, I realize that most of these companies say that they will give a donation to breast cancer research with each purchase. For instance, for every $16 pink eyelash curler that they sell, Sephora will donate $1 to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I suppose if you were already in the market for an eyelash curler and really liked the $16 one, then this is a nice way to help out. Or you could just give The Breast Cancer Research Foundation $16 and keep your old eyelash curler. Even better, Sephora could just make a corporate donation that is not dependent on any sales.

A Google search of "pink breast cancer awareness products" brings up products that surprised me, and I thought I've been paying attention.

http://boardcoverz.com/

Pink snowboard cover, anyone? In the interest of good taste, I am not posting the picture of the pink sex toys that are for sale. But you can do your own search and find them.

Pink isn't limited to the retail market; the companies are also going after professionals. 

http://www.medline.com/

Will you feel better if your doctor wears pink (non-latex) gloves while conducting your examination? I also saw a pink electric toothbrush for dentists to give to their patients.

Or what about this?

http://www.watchesandflasks.com/

A pink ribbon flask? Or even better....

http://www.smith-wesson.com/

Yep. It's a pink Smith and Wesson pistol.

I hope you will join me in boycotting the products that are less about breast cancer awareness and more about sly marketing. If you need some help determining what those are, I recommend this site:

According to their website, Think Before You Pink.org launched in 2002 in response to the growing concern about the number of pink ribbon products on the market. The campaign calls for more transparency and accountability by companies that take part in breast cancer fundraising, and encourages consumers to ask critical questions about pink ribbon promotions."

I recommend that you take a look at their site to help you make better decisions about which products really do help the cause.

In the meantime, perhaps you can think green instead of pink and make a donation directly to your favorite charity. If you need some suggestions, click one of the links below:

Susan G. Komen for the Cure
American Cancer Society
Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Thank you for reading.

Susan