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Beware Pinkwashing!

Beware Pinkwashing!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is October, and that means a sea of pink crap marketed at us gals (pink windex, pink labeled pork chops, pink plastic thigh masters, basically anything and everything we don’t need) and very little, if any, money actually goes towards a cure for breast cancer. Pinkwashing is putting pink ribbons on products for breast cancer “awareness” when the product actually has ingredients that are linked to cancer. According to the Pinkwashing Hall of Fame; companies are playing on our emotions attached to Breast Cancer (because who hasn’t been touched by this disease?) as a marketing ploy to sell products, rather than having a sincere desire to work towards eliminating this very preventable disease.

Or like Yoplait, donating a few pennies to breast cancer when it’s their products that cause cancer (one just needs to read “The China Study” to see that irrefutable link.)

Professor Jane Plant, one of Britain’s most eminent scientists, contracted breast cancer in 1987. When orthodox medicine gave up and she was told she had only three months to live, she used her extensive scientific training and her knowledge of other cultures to find a way to survive. In her research, she was startled to find that in China breast cancer affects far fewer women than in Western countries. Plant considered there could be a dietary trigger for the illness. As Plant continued her research, she became convinced there was a casual link between consumption of dairy products and breast cancer. In her book, “The No-Dairy Breast Cancer Prevention Program: How One Scientist’s Discovery Helped Her Defeat Her Cancer,” Professor Plant shares the discoveries that allowed her to triumph over breast cancer. With a clear statement of the scientific principles behind her discovery, Professor Plant’s book is a must-read for any woman considering her breast health.

How about selling guns to benefit your titty health? Sounds logical.. on opposites day.

According to PRWatch;

Smith & Wesson’s Pink Breast Cancer Awareness 9 mm Pistol, promoted by a woman named Julie Goloski, Smith and Wesson’s Consumer Program Manager and a sharpshooter herself. Goloski is promoting S&W’s breast cancer awareness pistol on her Facebook page, saying “October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness M&P’s are shipping to dealers. I am thrilled to have my name associated with such a worthy cause and one of my favorite firearms.” According to a 2008 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, firearms are the second most common cause of violent deaths of women, accounting for 29.2% of all violent deaths among females in the U.S. in 2008.  That’s some really beneficial dollars for the ladies! Murder weapons for cancer? WTF.

On a recent visit to The Breast Cancer Site, a webstore selling thousands of products to support a cure, we noticed that they only donate “between 3-50%” of all proceeds to breast cancer charities, which basically means sometimes they donate almost nothing, and sometimes they still turn a profit for themselves.

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Also important before buying anything pinkwashed is – do the research.  What organization is it funding? Is it an organization supporting antiquated animal testing or is a forward-thinking organization with its focus aimed at helping the actual people suffering and surviving rather than paying for plastic pink wrist bands or a fancy office?

According to this blogger;

“It turns out that Susan G. Komen thinks that they should have a monopoly on the term “For the Cure.” As in, nothing can be “For the Cure” unless it benefits breast cancer research. Actually, even that’s not good enough. It has to benefit Susan G. Komen. They feel strongly about this, so they use donor funds to sue other charities that use the phrase “For the Cure” in any of their events or drives.”

This facebook page is about supporting the work of organizations that are working to prevent breast cancer and not taking money from the very corporations that are poisoning our bodies and our environment.  Join them to learn more.  Think Before You Pink is a wonderful organization looking to rid us of this pinkwashing.  They do excellent work showing us where to put our dollars.
They recently turned us on to this video which shares Susan B. Komen’s new fragrance that is full of (wait for it….) cancer causing ingredients.  Of course it is.

What are the charities you know of that are doing legitimate good with funds raised? Let us know in the comments section below.
Think before you spend your money on pink items. Download a handy PDF of critical questions, find out the real story behind where the pink ribbon came from, learn more about cause marketing and make a direct donation to Breast Cancer Action.