Are You A Victim Of "Pinkwashing"?
The Breast Cancer Awareness Month began as a strategic, research-driven, and ultimately effective fundraising approach to help more women get screened, but in the recent years it has been co-opted by many companies in the name of profit.
With 1 in 8 women diagnosed with breast cancer, unfortunately almost everyone knows someone affected by the disease now. Most of us are also already well aware of the importance of mammograms. But, there is more that can be done to help if only we focus more on action and less on the pure "pinkwashing".
Just like with "greenwashing", "pinkwashing" companies who are eager to simply drive sales misuse the pink ribbon to drive profits. The best of them contribute all or a significant percentage of the sales or proceeds to the cause. The majority, though? Close to nothing at all.
What can you do to help?
Instead of falling into pure marketing traps, consider the following before you make your next pink purchase:
1) Do your own research
Distinguish between companies that donate % of sales vs % of proceeds to the cause. While a percentage of sales revenue will guarantee a certain amount of your purchase to go towards the cause, a percentage of profits will very much depend on how profitable that product / company is - often times meaning that almost (or actually) nothing is donated to the supported organization. Be sure to also check what organization the company is supporting and how those donation funds will be used, so you know what your contribution goes towards.
2) Support businesses run by breast cancer survivors
While surviving cancer is the best possible outcome, it can sometimes also leave the survivor with a large debt. Choosing to support a small business run by a breast cancer survivor will have a much larger impact in their life than any pink ribbon purchase at a pinkwashing company would ever have. While it can be hard to find out which business is run by a cancer survivor, a simple google search can be very helpful to find those companies.
3) Donate directly to research
In the end of the day, remember that you don't need to buy a pink product to support cancer research! Skip the middleman and donate your money directly to the organization you believe has the most impact. If you need a few options to read about, we recommend checking out the Charity Navigator.
While we have not had the chance to research and find an appropriate non-profit to support this October, we hope that you have. So, if you feel like adding some pink into your life we have a special offer for you:
15% OFF SALMON PINKUse code: BreastCancerAwareness at checkout by 10/31/21 to apply the discount to your order.
If possible, we kindly ask you to use the savings to donate to a non-profit of your choice.