Do You Think Before You Pink??

Pink has always been my favorite color ever since I was a little girl.  My room was painted pink, I had pink bedding on my white canopy bed, and when I got older pink was my favorite choice for nail polish and lipstick.  Little did I know that when I was in my thirties I would never look at that color the same again.  Although it is still my favorite I have to say that during October I get sick of seeing it on almost every product from bottled water to Sharpie highlighter pens. 

As a breast cancer survivor I don't want to come off as ungrateful or bitchy about the bc awareness campaign.  Its just that I can't help but wonder as I do every year if some companies tag themselves with that pink ribbon to increase their sales.  That is why I was glad to find out about a campaign looking out for just that.  Its called Think Before You Pink.  A project of Breast Cancer Action, it was launched in 2002 in response to an increasing concern about the huge number of pink ribbon products and promotions on the market.

This campaign also focuses on what they call "Pink Washers".  These are companies that say they care about breast cancer and promote its awareness but produce products that are linked to the disease!  Many cosmetic companies put out products with known carcinogens in the ingredients that have been linked to cancer.  This is of special interest to me as I try to avoid using products with bad stuff such as parabens and other chemicals/toxins.  

Something else to consider is where the money is going.  If you are a young adult survivor is the money from that product going to organizations that support your age group?  I say to ensure your money goes where you want it to the best way is to donate directly to that organization.

Be sure to check out this campaign and let me know what you guys think!

Do you ever think before you buy pink products?  Do you ever get tired of seeing the pink ribbon slapped on tons of products?  Ever think about where the money goes?