With Breast Cancer Action’s updated, 20th Anniversary Edition of our Think Before You Pink® Toolkit, you’ll get the resources, information, and tools you need to understand the truth behind pink ribbon marketing, the conflicts of interest in the cancer industry, and why so many people are still being diagnosed—and help others learn about it, too.
View and download the free toolkit today.
Pink-ribbon cause marketing has become big business for corporations, who have profited mightily by aligning themselves with fighting breast cancer. But any company can put the pink ribbon on any product, regardless of how much money – if any – goes to breast cancer. And some companies actually put pink ribbons on products linked to cancer – a practice we call pinkwashing.
Be sure to ask these questions before you buy pink.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of people come together to participate in breast cancer walks and runs in cities across the U.S. Some of these walks have become huge affairs that are hosted by multi-million dollar charities and sponsored by multi-billion dollar corporations that raise millions to “end breast cancer.” As far back as the 1990s, Breast Cancer Action members and other women affected by breast cancer have been asking how much of an impact these walks actually have in supporting women and saving their lives. As these walks have become larger and more closely tied to corporations, these questions are more pressing than ever.
If you want to be sure your time and money are truly making a difference, ask these questions before participating in or donating to a breast cancer walk or run.
From the beginning, the pink ribbon connoting breast cancer awareness has been embroiled in controversy. Today, some members of the movement wear it proudly, giving thanks for both the symbol and its attendant charity-dollar largesse. Others hate it with a passion. But to much of the media and the world at large, the pink ribbon is the breast cancer movement. Where did the ribbon come from, where is it going, and what has it meant along the way?