Is There Less Pinkification This Year

A week or so ago, I watched an NFL game and decided that something was wrong. It was october and players did not have pink shoes and pink towels. Then I have seen a lot fewer pink events. I haven't been out much because of my stupid knee, but I just feel like there is less pink around.

This makes me happy. I would love to go back to the month formerly known as October and see orange and brown again, lots of carved pumpkins and zero pink ribbons. I don't need to have pink everything. And this is the first October in many years that it has not been covered in pink.

What is wrong? Is the country burned out of pink stuff as a result of the Komen blow up a few years back? Does the media have other things to focus on besides pink ribbon events - like the latest fashion styles of the first lady and her husband's rude tweets?

Maybe that pink thing is just so embedded into society that we do not notice special events any more.

I am happy that there is less pink... I need to go carve some pumpkins.

Pinktober

Its now Pinktober. It will be horrible. There will be pink on everything. There were even little pink ribbons on the bananas I bought last week. I was appalled but I didn't notice until I got home and it was too lazy to bring them back.

But please brace yourself and do not get sucked into the pinkification which will be rampant all month long. Please do not purchase anything or donate to anything that claims to support breast cancer unless you know the following:

• The organization to which the money is going - are they a real organization that really will use the funds to provide what they said they will.
• That the total amount of the money you think you are giving to a organization is really going to them. You need to check the fine print on the label to learn this. 
• Is it $1, $5, or $10 or what amount going to them. Just because you spent $30 on something, what portion of that is going to support a cause. Its probably not the full amount.
• Is there a maximum amount for the program? An example of this is that big companies will say '$1 from the price of this lipstick will be donated to XYZ organization, up to a total donation of $25,000 for the year'. Read the fine print again.
• Don't purchase anything you really do not want or need. All this pinkification is designed to help sell more products. Its just a big marketing ploy. 

Breast cancer is the current 'cool cancer' and pink is such a 'pretty color' it can be splashed all over everything. But its just a big money maker for big industry. Not for the little peon breast cancer patients.

If you really want to support breast cancer, find a worthy cause - American Cancer Society, BreastCancer.org, or a local organization you know well. And send them a nice check. You can even put it into a nice pink envelope if you want.

Changing Your Wardrobe For An Ailment

I couldn't sleep last night (again - thanks to back pain) and started wondering why women with breast cancer instantly start wearing pink and accessorizing with all things pink upon their diagnosis? Why do they feel the need to do this? I just don't understand. I admit when I was diagnosed with breast cancer I did go out and purchase one pink breast cancer t-shirt which I wore to chemo once and then donated it. I was also given breast cancer t-shirts by family and friends after they participated in an Avon walk. I never wore them either.

What if your ailment didn't have a 'pretty colored' ribbon, would start wearing that color? If you were diagnosed with narcolepsy, for example, would you start wearing black and accessorize with black ribbons? Or if you had ADHD would you wear orange and orange ribbons? Probably not.

With my medical history I should then wear purple (thyroid cancer and fibromyalgia), blue and purple (rheumatoid arthritis), light blue (lymphedema), and pink (breast cancer). I am probably forgetting something but that's enough of a rainbow for now. (See the whole list here.)

Pink has always been one of my favorite colors. I have always worn a lot of pink clothes. But now I actually stay away from pink as I don't want to be identified as a breast cancer person by the clothes I wear. So in some ways I am changing my wardrobe away from pink in a cringing way.

Call it backlash.

Please do not put a pink ribbon on anything

I am so disappointed these days. Why? Because Komen (for the cure*) has taken what could be a wonderful cause and turned it into a disaster. Back when Nancy made a promise to her sister and turned it into a cause, it was a great idea. But now, not so much.

Their website states: "In 1980, Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever."

The idea to raise awareness of a deadly disease that was only whispered before the organization came alone is a wonderful one. They could have done so much with this. But they really missed the mark. They are not working to end breast cancer forever. They are raising awareness. So much for that promise.

As the vast majority of literate people are aware of breast cancer and the benefits of early detection, they could easily have moved on to shifted their cause to promoting research. The majority of their funds goes to education and training. But does not go to research, particularly for metastatic breast cancer research, where funds are clearly needed.

In fact if you read their website (scroll down on the front page), you can see they clearly use 20% of the funds they raise for fundraising and administration and only 80% for their mission.

To be clear I have never intentionally given money to the Komen (for the cure*) foundation. I did volunteer for them for a while. I helped at local events back when I was naive about their policies. They were very disorganized on the local level. Their volunteer coordinator did not coordinate well and everything was 'last minute'. This is a problem with many organizations so I am not saying Komen is the only one who does this. But there was no follow up with their events and we never felt appreciated.

I also used to participate in their message boards for breast cancer patients (I will not use the S-word) when I was going through treatment. They used restricted the use of their message boards and many of us felt disenchanted and left their message boards. Most of us are still happily connected on Facebook. That is a real shame as there is a lot of good information for those diagnosed with breast cancer on their website. Or there was. I'm not sure its still there as I don't bother with their website.

By ignoring the needs of the metastatic breast cancer community, they have lost many supporters. Susan Komen died of metastatic breast cancer. Women who are dying of breast cancer are calling for boycotts of the organization. See Laurie Becklunds request, "As I Lay Dying"  and Eileen over at "Woman in a Hat" as she writes about Beth's adventures at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and the idiot from the Komen board.

And I haven't even gotten into the Planned Parenthood disaster.

Komen (for the cure*) started by taking a nice woman's peach colored ribbon and turned it into a pink ribbon and has plastered it on everything they can. Now we have too many pink ribbons covering up a major gap in funding. Please stop the pink.

* As part of their ridiculousness, the Komen foundation (for the cure*) loves to sue smaller organizations who use the words For The Cure in their name. Claiming its an infringement on their copyright.

I can tell its Pinktober

Yes I admit I can be a news junkie. I also like to follow information on my (many) ailments. I get daily Google Alerts for most of them so I can be one of the first to know about the latest treatment options.

I can tell its Pinktober. All my breast cancer news includes the words 'awareness', 'pink', the s-word, or other related terms. Yesterday's alert included these items:

"Harford observes breast cancer awareness month"
"Breast cancer survivor finds comfort in delivering flowers to other patients at Texas hospital"
"WATCH: 29 year old beats breast cancer, gets featured on Pink Ribbon Connection"
"Breast cancer awareness chili cookoff Saturday"
"Breast cancer survivors event"

This drives me crazy. Please stop spending money on pink and spend the money on more important things like research.

Who has the time?

I started wondering (which I admit can be a dangerous proposition) who has the time to waste spend on all this pinkification? It takes a lot of shopping to buy all the pink crap, time getting dressed in all the pink stuff, and everything that goes with it?

I am just amazed at the people I see out almost in a costume of pink at this time of year. Everything from jewelry, feather boas, shoes, bags, clothing, etc. Then there are the pink ribbons on everything. NFL players have pink towels. Buildings are lit up in pink.

I admit I bought a pink t-shirt with some slogan on the back of it to wear to chemo. I wore it once to my second infusion and never took it out of the closet again. I like the color pink and wear it often but I do not pinkify myself.

Personally I do not have the time or the energy to allow any one thing to take over my life like that. I live a multi-faceted life (note the big word early in the day) and allow myself to enjoy many different things, and squeeze in a few million doctor appointments.

I cannot imagine allowing anything to monopolize my life like that. I think a bad medical diagnosis, like breast cancer, is a wake up call that life is important. But it is not appropriate or healthy to obsess over it and allow it to monopolize your life. No one thing should be so important in anyone's life. Life is meant to be enjoyed and not have an obsession. Don't waste your time on any one thing.

Once again its Pinktober

Except I do not celebrate Pinktober. At this time of year I look forward to apple picking, Columbus Day weekend, leaf peeping, and Halloween (which is the best annual excuse for a sugar high).

I am braced for the onslaught of pinkness and really do not care for it. I will not be walking, running, shopping, or donating for anything pink. Because of Pinktober, I actually resist contributing to anything pink for the month.

And it is also Liver Cancer Awareness Month.

I think this year I will support Liver Cancer instead of pinkifying anything.

Overpinked

Yesterday I went off for a day of fun and shopping with a friend. On the way home, while stopped at a light, I noticed pink signs in front of the Valvoline oil change place for windshield wipers.... We didn't get the connection.

Some Hollywood stars have put pink strips in their hair to support breast cancer. You can get pink drill bits for fracking and offshore oil drilling. According to The Onion, the Komen spaces ship is on its way to the outermost parts of the galaxy.

I am so overpinked. Only 11 days to go. I'm waiting for Halloween.

A warning

Please brace yourself for the annual onslaught of pinkification in the month that starts on Wednesday, formerly known as October but know is Pinktober.

Pink is not the new black. We do not need a world wrapped in pink. Buildings lit up in pink do nothing. Football players dressed in pink do nothing. Regular items, including kitchen utensils, trash barrels, clothing, changed to pink do nothing. We are all aware of breast cancer.

If it makes you feel good to pay for something pink, please read the fine print. The advice to all is to do your research before donating to a cause to make sure you know how much is really going to the cause. However if you are in a store with a huge display of somethingfabulousinpink and you succumb to the pressure and decide to purchase it, please stop, breathe and read the fine print.

If it says 50% from all profits go to somepinkfund, put it back. What that means is that 50% of the manufacturer's profit is probably some tiny amount. For example, if the item costs $50, the wholesale is probably around $20-$25. The manufacturer probably sends it to a distributor who marks it up another 30%. So a quick shot at doing the math means that the manufacturer sells it for around are around $15 for the $25 wholesale item. And the manufacturing costs probably are around $13. (Note these are rough estimates but I do work in marketing and at a distributor so I am probably in the ball park to give you an idea.) So the 50% of the profits are maybe $1....

You are better off buying something you would prefer that is not pink and sending a check to your favorite charity.

Besides that pink item will probably clash with the rest of your kitchen and will get hidden away.

So skip the pink bandwagon. If we stop buying pink stuff, they will stop making it (some day....).

Happy Halloween!

Today is Halloween. There should be no more Pinktober. There should be lots of kids around here dressed up in Red Sox uniforms with fake beards. There should be no more Pinktober. There should be candy bowls everywhere making dentists cringe. There should be no more Pinktober.

I am wearing an orange shirt and black pants and sweater to work to add to the mood. If I can find my hat from Cirque du Soleil, I'll bring that a long as well. There is no Pinktober.

I'm just happy all the Pinktober crap is over. Let's see if we can minimize it for next year.

The numbers behind pinkification..

The NFL has decided to cut back on their pinkification... They will stop using pink penalty flags in week 6 - I have no idea when week 6 is but assume it is sometime around now. That is how much I know about football. But do not be too upset as they will still use pink cleats, wristbands, gloves, sideline hats, helmet decals, captains' patches, chin cups, shoe laces, skull caps, sideline towels, eye shield decals and quarterback towels.

The reason given for the stop is that pink penalty flags can easily be confused by players with the other flashes of pink. Out of the corner of your eye, was that a pink penalty flag dropped or another player running by or a dropped quarterback towel? I guess it can be confusing to players but then I find the whole game confusing.

Pink penalty flags are a small portion of the NFL's efforts.

The  big picture effort is called a Crucial Catch and is a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the NFL and supported by corporate sponsors. This has been going on since 2009. It is not very altruistic of the NFL as they are trying to recruit more female fans, particularly younger ones.

But here are the real details behind this all. How much do you think the NFL must have donated in the past four years? Guess a number and read below:

"This is where the campaign gets murky. While all proceeds from auctioned game-worn items go to breast cancer causes, the league declines to say what portion of the apparel sales do. Inquiring minds can estimate, however. Ticketmaster limited its 2012 A Crucial Catch contribution to 10 cents for every ticket sold last October (up to $40,000 total), and The New York Times reported that Old Navy donated only five percent of revenues to a foundation via a similar 2011 campaign featuring the Dallas Cowboys. Charlotte Jones Anderson, the daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, supervised this campaign, and Anderson in December was appointed chairwoman of a new NFL foundation that will direct league community efforts.

The bottom line: The league hardly donates much to "fight" breast cancer. You'd need to use scientific notation with negative exponents to express what percentage of the NFL's annual revenues it contributes via A Crucial Catch. The campaign raised a combined $4.5 million during its first four years (2009-2012), including $1.5 million last year. League-wide revenues approached $8 billion in 2009, when NFL teams earned a median profit of $28.6 million, according to The Economics of the National Football League, a 2012 book edited by Kevin G. Quinn. (The NFL says it plans to donate $23 million to all community causes this year -- less than one percent of its likely revenues.)

If they are not really concerned with aiding breast cancer causes, then, why do the NFL and its corporate partners orchestrate this campaign? The cynical answer is that they are more interested in their images, and in growing their products and revenues. They are seeking to attract new consumers, usually female, and to establish a positive connection with them."

A whopping $4.5 million dollars from four years of effort out of $8 billion in revenues in a single year? Thats a teeny tiny percent.

I am not blasting the NFL here but using them as an example of how the numbers of pinkification never add up. If you really care, send your dollars to a worthy cause that you have checked out first.

The number is: 0.01406% each year. Basically a drop in the bucket.

I am annoyed about pink already

On day 4 of Pinktober, the month formerly known as October, and I am already annoyed by pinkification. Boston's Museum of Fine Arts was lit up pink last night. The NFL has already made an announcement on their support of pinkification. I get way too many emails and FB posts about pink things.

Damn. I'll go live under a rock for the rest of this month. It is so annoying!

Accountability

Accountability means the state of being accountable, liable, answerable. Accountable means being able to explain. That is what I am asking for.

The people who brought us pinkness, a/k/a Komen for the Cure, claim they are out for the cure of breast cancer. They spend 18% of what they take in on research. That's it. The rest is on pinkness.

Twenty two years ago they started handing out pink ribbons to help find the cure for breast cancer. In that time they have painted the world pink, and introduced us to pinkwashing and pinkification. There is no cure, treatments are still horrible. Mortality rates are unchanged. And they have sued other organizations for using the words 'for the cure'.

A little accountability is needed here to explain what they are really doing. They are not for the cure. They are selling pink.

On this October 1, as the landscape slowly turns pink, make an accountable decision with your donations. Do not paint the world pink, make sure your money is going to something other than just pink paint.

Bracing for pinkness

Today is September 30. Back at the beginning of September, I asked all of you to take a pledge against pinkification and focus on real needs. Here is the pledge again:

I (state your name [and not the Animal House version]) promise that during the month of Pinktober, formerly known as October, I will not arbitrarily purchase pink items or donate to pink causes with out first researching how much actually goes to breast cancer research or screening services. 

I will first research them using services such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to ensure they are legitimate.

I also promise that I will not support pinkification efforts to paint things pink, light up buildings in pink, or other such activities.

Thank you.

Its been a month. Have you researched other causes? Have you rejected any pinkification efforts already?

I have been asked to be in a newspaper article (which they actually print on pink paper during the month of October) and declined. I have already been approached for donations because its breast cancer awareness season. October will be a blur of pink, with the internet and phones and mail full of requests to help with pinkification efforts. The media will also be full of rehashed breast cancer research from the past few years. This does nothing. It does not help.

We do not need awareness. We need research. And a cure would be really nice. I just learned this morning that another 36 year old woman, Jen Smith of LivingLegendary.org, died of metastatic breast cancer yesterday - that was too young.

We can skip the awareness. There are better things in October - Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween. (Haven't you seen the little candy bars everywhere?). Its also Liver Cancer awareness - which is a green ribbon. You can skip wearing pink for breast cancer awareness and wear green for liver cancer.

November brings us Lung Cancer awareness and the Great American Smoke Out as well as Pancreatic Cancer and Stomach Cancer months. It also has Veterans Day - and we have many veterans to thank and remember - as well as Thanksgiving.

So please take the pledge and donate to cancer research and not pinkification. Thank you.

An annual pledge against pinkification

As we approach the month of Pinktober (with 30 days advance notice), it is time for all of us to raise our hands and pledge the following. Please join in.

Raise your right hand and repeat after me:

I (state your name [and not the Animal House version]) promise that during the month of Pinktober, formerly known as October, I will not arbitrarily purchase pink items or donate to pink causes with out first researching how much actually goes to breast cancer research or screening services. 

I will first research them using services such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to ensure they are legitimate.

I also promise that I will not support pinkification efforts to paint things pink, light up buildings in pink, or other such activities.

Thank you.

We need to focus our efforts on research and screening services for under served populations. We do not need any more awareness. The American public is plenty aware of breast cancer at this point.

Between now and then September is Prostate Cancer, Childhood Cancer, Thyroid Cancer, Leukemia and Lymphoma, and Ovarian Cancer month. It also contains the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Those all seem to be overshadowed by the looming Pinkification of October.

In October, there are other lovely holidays to support. Halloween for one - the one where we dress in costume and eat lots of candy, never mind Columbus Day and a host of other minor celebrations.

November includes many events including Veterans Day and Thanksgiving but it in recent years the squabbling that has resulted from Pinktober overwhelms everything until Thanksgiving. It also includes the great American Smokeout, Lung Cancer Awarness and Pancreatic Cancer awareness month.

What I am trying to say is stop supporting on pinkification and focus on research and screening for underserved populations.

Outrage against the pink machine

I finally watched Pink Ribbons Inc - a Canadian made documentary about breast cancer as the poster child of cause related marketing. (My apologies to AnneMarie over at Chemobrain Fog for taking so long to get to it but now I will pass it along to others.) My single thought on the film:

OUTRAGE

- how can they 'use' such a nasty disease to their benefit? The 'they' here are corporations who claim they are doing good but really are just using it are a marketing promotion. Here are a few quotes that stuck with me:

- one woman with stage IV breast cancer said there is 'no integrity' in this pinkification on where the dollars go. Companies make the money but how much really goes to the cure, who oversees the research to make sure they are a group effort in working towards something real instead of just dabbling at it in different parts of the world.

- Nancy Brinker really got me with this one. She said "until there is a cure, there is not enough pink." Oh, please. You just like wearing pink suits with your debutante Junior League hair style. We aren't talking about a paint color here. Its a real disease and you can't sugarcoat with some pink and make it cute. By focusing on the color pink you are ignoring the impact of the disease on women's and their families' lives. There is nothing pretty and pink about breast cancer.

I do like the advice that if you have breast cancer you should do something besides worry. Trust me I know this one well. Sitting around and stewing about your health - one ailment or 1000 ailments, does not help you at all. Going for a walk or a run to get in shape will help distract you and might even help your health and if the goal of a pinkified event will help you is fine if it works for you. But you could just send in a check and go for a daily walk with a friend or two and not be part of the pink machine.

My personal goal now is to avoid the pink machine as much as possible in my life.

Find a copy of Pink Ribbons Inc. You can buy it at Amazon now. You might even be able to take it out of your library. Have some friends over and be prepared to be outraged.

Over the top

Okay, I lied. Again. I'm sorry. I'm writing about pinkification again so if it is really driving you crazy feel free to skip my blog today and read it again tomorrow. I was surfing this morning and came across a list of weird things that have been pinked. If you must buy pinked things, you might as well get something really weird... but check the fine print first.

Penguin Group Romance Novels- They have a Read Pink program and will donate $25,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. But I couldn't find how much of each purchase is part of the $25,000.... Maybe they are just making the donation and not taking a specific amount for each book. I can see the connection - romance novels are read by women... Not that bad an item.

Pink Ribbon Pasta from the Pasta Shoppe. 10% of each purchase goes to Komen... But I didn't see a maximum being donated. But pink pasta with red sauce might look yucky on your plate.

Pink Boxing gloves - 'A portion of each item goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation' - so what portion? Is there a maximum? Can I have a pair to take out my frustrations with my health and not hurt my hands if I get the desire to punch something?

Delta Sky Miles & Minute Maid Pink Lemonade - 10% of your membership fee goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. They also give you an opportunity to donate directly. And 100% of all sales of Minute Maid Pink Lemonade in October are going to the BCRF as well. What ever happened to free inflight beverages?

A car - I am not kidding on this one. You can get a Fiat 500 with a breast cancer ribbon decal. $1000 of each car purchase goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Again I did not see a maximum being donated.

Carry-on bag from Tumi - 20% of the $445 price (or $89) of a special multi color pink bag goes to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation during October.

Pink Ribbon Cable lock - It vaguely states that the manufacturer donates a portion of the purchase to the National Breast Cancer Foundation... I would skip this one. How much is being donated? Don't waste your $14.95 plus shipping.

9mm Hand Gun - Just because Smith & Wesson now makes a pink gun, does not turn me into a card carrying member of the NRA. They don't tell you how much is being donated... And its out of stock.

Magnetic hammer - I am not a tool persona nd am not sure why a hammer needs to be magnetic but a pink one? No thanks. I already have a pink tool set that has a pink hammer - that was given to me as a joke. (My husband refuses to use any of the tools in it.)  This company has its own Pink for a Purpose fund which gives money to Avon's Breast Cancer Awareness and Anti-Domestic Violence funds as well as a pet care fund. But how much?


Swiffer Duster kit - but its out of stock....

Beer Pong Table - I didn't know they made beer pong tables never mind pinked ones. Since I am long since out of college, I don't need one. I can see these in fraternity houses across the country. And its the official size of the World Series of Beer Pong and the Atlantic City Beer Pong Championship...$10 of each $139.95 price (on sale from $169.95) goes to breast cancer research... but what organization?


Skis from K2.... But they don't tell you how much or who it is etc.

Okay. Most of these are over the top. But if you must buy any of them, be sure you know how much of your money is going to what organization and if there is a maximum. Often companies set up these products and give a portion of your purchase to a non-profit up to a certain amount. After reaching the maximum, the portion becomes part of their profit. I promise to stop blogging about pinkification. I am so happy October is almost over.

Donating

I'm sorry. I lied I wasn't going to blog about pinkification anymore. But I am. I think everyone agrees we all have plenty of breast cancer awareness thank-you-very-much. We all have something pink (I even have a pink handled KitchenAid chopping knife and ice cream scoops and they work really well) and we are all aware of breast cancer. I think the general consensus out there is that we are done with awareness and would like to move on to research and a cure.

One of the big problems with pinkification is so much of it is run by the same organization Komen for the Cure (I can call them for the Cure because they 'own' that term). They are everywhere. Snapfish has pinkified their products and gives a donation to Komen for every purchase. You can find them everywhere. But they are not the only organization out there providing funds for bresat cancer research and awareness.

I think Komen has done some wonderful things for breast cancer awareness and deserve a lot of the credit for what they have done over the past 20 years. However, their name may say 'for the cure' but if you look at where their money goes -  more than 2/3 goes to breast cancer awareness,  less than 1/3 goes to research for a cure. So their name may say it (and they may think they 'own' it) but they are really 'for awareness' not 'for the cure'. (If you don't believe me go look on page 13 of their financials here http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedFiles/SGKFTC_FY10AnnualReport.pdf).

A friend of mine was complaining, and I have heard this from others as well, that 4-5% of their dollars are spent on metastatic breast cancer research. And is that 4-5% of the total or of the less than 1/3 is another story - we aren't sure? In other words, their money goes to awareness and not research regardless of what their name is. And so do your dollars if you support them.

The American Cancer Society puts their money to providing wellness/being healthy activities, information and support during treatment, funding cancer research, advocacy to get laws passed to keep us healthier (anti tobacco laws, etc), and providing access to health care for uninsured or under insured. I don't have all their numbers but while their funds go to research and other good areas, not all goes to research.

This goes on and on. Their is nothing wrong with giving money to Komen or the American Cancer Society but you should know where your money is going. Maybe Komen started off being 'for the cure' and evolved into 'for awareness' - that happens. If you are interested in where your donation goes, start with the charity's website and look for the About Us or something similar section and see where they say their money goes. Then go to charitynavigator.org for a non-partisan look at how well they spend their money. Then make your decision to donate.

A note about smaller charities: there are many small local charities out there that are not listed in charitynavigator.org or other online directories because of their size. They may do many good things and you should not overlook them in making donations. If you have a question about how they spend their money, call and ask. If they can't give you an answer, then skip them. If they can answer, then send in your donation.

Pinkification is pissing people off

Try saying that three times fast... (I don't use usually use the term pissing people off but it fits here and I apologize if you find it offensive). I wasn't going to write about pinkification any more as it pisses me off. But then I read the morning paper and there was a nice article explaining how it got to where it is and  why it makes people so mad. 20 years ago Komen started the pink ribbon idea at an event in New York and it did great things. We are all now aware of breast cancer, especially those of us who were lucky enough to get it.

So pinkification was started in 1991 with the first pink ribbons distributed. Then it has evolved into all sorts of pinked things - pink trash cans, pink guns, pink KFC baskets, pink perfume (made with known carcinogens and sold by Komen), and pink football helmets. Pinkification isn't helping anymore. If it pisses you off, you are not alone, there is even a book about it, Pink Ribbon Inc.

I think its time to let loose my inner rebel and come up with anti-pinkification and read more from Breast Cancer Action  and Think Before You Pink.

Halfway

I have survived half of Pinktober... Well since there are 31 days in October at noon tomorrow it will be halfway but that is a mere technicality. I have not bought a single pinked thing. The only pinked things I would consider buying are those made by individuals who are giving the money to cancer research or support. I will not contribute to the marketing schemes of the corporate world who pink their products to increase their sales. (Go occupiers!)  I am not getting on my political or anti-corporation high horse here but allow me to explain.

I talked to my mother the other day (who is much better after her medical misadventure and hopes to be freed from her oxygen tank on Monday) and she was telling me she likes her coffee yogurt. There is only one brand of coffee yogurt available around here (coffee yogurt is okay, I couldn't eat it every day but she does) and for the month of October it has been pinked. She was wondering why they would bother having everyone send in their lids because how much money would they donate for each lid. Or go to their website and enter the special code online.

It really is a marketing scheme that works out to the company's benefit. A company could easily make a donation directly to cancer research or whatever. But where are the profits and publicity in that? Why can't the corporate greed get in the way and let the company increase their profits and look like a do-gooder?

So the company pinks a product and makes a big announcement 'for every yogurt lid you send in, we will make a donation to cancer research'. The public thinks they are doing something good by changing their brand for the month and buying the pinked product. The company's product sales go up for the month. And they give their donation of whatever preset amount they were going to give to charity anyway. And maybe they get more converts to their brand from the competition.

And for everyone who sends in their yogurt lid they get a bit more customer interaction which makes people remember the brand more and become more likely to rebuy in the future. Better yet, if they get people to go sign in to their website with a special code, they get their email address and they can continue to promote their product to the customer to increase future sales.

Why do you think these companies do these things? It helps their bottom line. Skip the pinked stuff and suffer for another 15.5 days of Pinktober and then send in your $20 to cancer research or what ever is your passion. You will feel better and the corporations won't get your email.