Breast Cancer Awareness Month and its 31 days of pink ribbons have mixed thoughts amongst survivors.
Personally, at least this year, I’m all for it. It feels like a second birthday party because this last year was rough. I have milestones to celebrate, life to celebrate! The fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month feels like I get to celebrate with all the other survivors, previvors, and metavivors – we’re still here!!
And yes, I’ll be wearing a lot of pink this month and sporting pink ribbon items. Why? To start a conversation. To let others know that young people can and do get breast cancer. We’re all well aware of the existence of breast cancer, we’re past that part of breast cancer awareness. What we need is for young people need to be aware of the importance of self-examinations.
And what we need even more than that, is a cure. Stage IV breast cancer kills. In 2019 alone, about 41,760 women are expected to die from breast cancer. That’s 114 women per day in the US alone.
But why would some survivors have a problem with all the pink ribbons??
Pinkwashing
According to the Breast Cancer Consortium, pinkwashing is defined as “supporting the breast cancer cause or promoting a pink ribbon product while producing, manufacturing, and/or selling products linked to the disease. In recent years the definition has expanded to include any company or organization that exploits breast cancer for profit or public relations motivations.”
That’s a mouthful. Basically there are companies that plaster pink ribbons on their products with the promise of donating money to breast cancer research. Some companies are legit and will act on that promise. But other companies are just saying that to pull at your heartstrings so you’ll be more inclined to buy their product.
Or, possibly worse, some companies will make donations to breast cancer research. But the products they sold to obtain those donations are actually linked to causing breast cancer.
Take a walk through the mall, the makeup counter, just about any retailer or grocery store. You’re bound to see some pinkwashing items with promises of donations. Hear me out: I don’t believe all these companies are horrible, so long as they act on what they say they’ll do.
A Positive Alternative
Don’t let those pink ribbons be the reason you buy the product. Instead, I suggest making a donation directly to organizations that are funding breast cancer research or providing support to those living with the disease.
Some of those worthwhile organizations include the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Stand Up To Cancer, and Metavivor. You can also donate to smaller or more local organizations that provide emotional support or help with daily living. I’m a huge fan of First Descents, Mary’s Place by the Sea, or Pink Ribbon Girls. (You can read about my experiences with First Descents and Mary’s Place by the Sea, if that helps.)
If you know of another organization and you’d like to learn about their impact you can check out how they rank on Charity Navigator or GuideStar. Charity Navigator actually has an article listing some of the more popular breast cancer organizations here.
More Harm than Good?
The ironic, and frankly sad, thing about some of these pinkwashing companies is that their products may contain ingredients that have been linked to breast cancer growth. Watch out for cosmetics and personal care items containing parabens or phthalates. These ingredients are added as preservatives, but they’ve been shown to mimic estrogen or otherwise affect hormone levels, which can increase your risk of cancer. (There’s still research being done on the matter, so it’s not a definitive answer.)
There are websites and apps that rank beauty products by their ingredient lists, giving you a better idea of how green or healthy these products are. These resources include the Skin Deep website, Healthy Living app, and ThinkDirty app.
If you’re in the market to replace some of your beauty products and don’t know where to start, take a gander at Beauty Counter or 100% Pure.
Think Before You Pink
If you’re interested in donating to support those of us affected by breast cancer, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!! I know there are so many worthwhile causes to support and it can be difficult narrowing down not only the cause you want to support, but then how and where to give.
I hope this post has given you a few things to consider about pinkwashing, and a few resources to help you feel more confident in your donation decision.
Other sources:
Scientific American on parabens
Harvard Health Publishing on parabens
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