Site of the Week: Think Before You Pink

This month you’ve probably seen a sea of pretty, pink breast-cancer ribbons plastered on all sorts of stuff, including makeup, breath mints, yogurt, jeans and more. In honor of my mother, who was a breast cancer survivor for over 20 years, I like to support the cause. So when there’s a choice between an item I usually buy that sports a pink ribbon and one without—I reach for the brand with the ribbon thinking I may have done some good.

Then I came across the nonprofit group Think Before You Pink, which gave me pause. Maybe my money’s not going to support breast cancer. It may even be promoting pinkwashing—which means that a company may look like it’s supporting breast cancer research by stamping a pink ribbon on its package, but the product may be linked to the disease (such as rBGH-hormone-laced milk products) or just not be donating as much of their proceeds as you think. So before you buy anything “pink” the group advises:

1. Read the label’s fine print.
Look for packages that state the amount of their donation. If you can’t tell, or you don’t think it’s enough, give directly to the organization itself.

2. Is there a cap on what the company will donate?
Some companies place a cap on the amount of money that will be donated. This   means that once they’re reached that mark, your purchase may not be contributing to the cause at all, depending on when you shop, and whether the cap has been met.

3. Make sure your purchase is going to the cause you think it is.
Not all pink-ribboned purchases equal a direct donation. If you bought a pink-ribboned Lean Cuisine entrée, for example, the money didn't go directly to a breast-cancer group. Consumers are directed to the company's Web site, where they could buy a Lean Cuisine tote, and $5 of that purchase would go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. No one is disputing the good will; but why all the jumping through hoops?

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Comments

[Breast Cancer Action]

Thank you so much for featuring Breast Cancer Action's Think Before You Pink campaign Web site as your site of the week! It is so important to get the word out about pink ribbon cause marketing and we appreciate you helping us do so. Please stay up-to-date on all of Breast Cancer Action's campaigns and continue to help us challenge assumptions and inspire change.

Breast Cancer Action
bcaction.org
thinkbeforeyoupink.org