Pink for October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. As you can see, our website has gone Pink for October in honor of this cause.

Pink for October
(logo by Selene M. Bowlby)

Every October a bunch of companies and organizations team up to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. Most of them do this by selling pink products, although some people feel this trivializes the cause and takes attention away from more important things (like actual information about breast cancer and the costs of medical care etc.) In a way I agree, but I also feel that whatever gets money to these breast cancer organizations and whatever gets awareness of the cause out to the typical man and woman on the street, is still a good thing. Perhaps not the best thing, but it's well-intentioned nonetheless. We have provided a small sampling of some of the campaigns, promotions and events happening right now. We do not necessarily endorse any of these programs; you can choose whether or not to support them. Think Before You Pink has devised some critical questions to ask yourself before you buy/donate. We have also provided some resources on actual breast cancer information, because that's what's really important during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

DayRunner has teamed up with the City of Hope for a "Think Pink and Make a Difference" promotion. $50,000 will be donated to City of Hope for breast cancer research, treatment and education.

QuickNotes® Wall Calendar & Cambridge® Business Notebook
Breast Cancer Awareness Products available at DayRunner.com

Estée Lauder and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation have teamed up for the Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. Every October, the Estée Lauder Companies sponsor a number of breast cancer awareness and fundraising programs. Some of the brands participating in this campaign, by distributing pink ribbons and information materials at retail counters and also selling special Pink Ribbon beauty products to support their donations are: Aveda Hand Relief, Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Collection, Bumble and bumble Classic Hairspray, Clinique Moisturizing Lotion, Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in Ribbon Pink, Darphin Predermine Wrinkle Corrective Serum, Donna Karan Cosmetics Limited-Edition Cashmere Mist Eau de Toilette Spray, Estée Lauder Beautiful Eau de Parfum Spray, Estée Lauder Perfectionist CP + Wrinkle Lifting Serum, Estée Lauder Evelyn Lauder Lip Color Collection, Estée Lauder Elizabeth Hurley High Gloss Lip Color Collection, Estée Lauder Jeweled Pink Ribbon Pin, Estée Lauder Pink Reflections Duet Jay Strongwater for Estée Lauder, Jo Malone Red Roses Cologne and Bath Oil, La Mer Crème de la Mer, Lab Series Skincare for Men Daily Moisture Defense Lotion SPF 15, Ojon® Revitalizing Mist, Origins Peace of Mind® On-the-spot relief, Prescriptives Pink Ribbon Collection, Sean John Fragrances Unforgivable Eau de Toilette Spray, Sean John Fragrances Unforgivable Woman Eau de Toilette Spray, Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries Dreaming Tommy Hilfiger Eau de Parfum Spray with Charm, Tommy Hilfiger Toiletries Hilfiger Eau de Toilette Cologne Spray.

Bella's Confections are yet again selling ridiculously delicious chocolate with a pink BCA-theme. 50% of each purchase will be donated to the The Fremont Rideout Foundation Cancer Center.

Bella's Bites: Smooth semi-sweet chocolate with a rich chocolate coating,
topped with breast cancer ribbon sugar candy charms (made with natural food dye).
Almost too cute too eat. Almost. Available at www.BellasConfections.com

New Balance has had a long-running (pun intended) partership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Their Lace Up For the Cure® Collection contains high-quality performance footwear, apparel and accessories that feature a pink ribbon. 15% of wholesale sales will be contributed to Susan G. Komen for the Cure (with a guaranteed minimum donation of $500,000 up to a maximum of $1 million).

For a list of retailers of the "Lace Up For The Cure" Collection: Click here

KitchenAid has also teamed up with Komen, for their ongoing Cook for the Cure and Pass the Plate programs. During 2008, KitchenAid will make a donation for every pink product purchased (a minimum of $1,000,000) to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

KitchenAid will donate $50 to Komen for each pink Stand Mixer purchased,
$25 for each pink Food Processor; $15 for each pink Blender, etc...

During September and October, Red Envelope is donating 10% of sales of certain "give pink" items to Susan G. Komen for the Cure (up to $10,000).


Year-round, eBags donates 10% of retails sales of any "Pick Pink" product to Susan G. Komen for the Cre. We were also pleased to see that theyoffered helpful links on breast exams, breast cancer facts, etc. on their shopping page.

Since July 2004, eBags customers have helped to raise more than $500,000
for Breast Cancer research, education, screening and treatment.

Next will donate 10% of sales from their "Forever Pink" collections to the UK's Breast Cancer Care (minimum donation of £20,000).

Forever Pink collection from Next

Interflora has teamed up with Breast Cancer Care, to create a new online flower shop. 12% of every purchase made from the site will be donated to Breast Cancer Care.

The Breast Cancer Campaign's ongoing Wear It Pink promotion, has a number of participating stores, such as Smiffy's and Ann Summers, who will both donate 10% of select products to the Campaign. Smiffy's have committed to raising a minimum of £10,000.

Wear It Pink: Pink accessories from Smiffy's;
"Sweet Cheeks" knickers from Ann Summers

And of course, we can't forget our favorite "Bands for Boobs" event... Breastival! Organized by none other, than the infamous raz, this year's event will take place on Saturday, October 25 at 9:30 pm at the House of Bricks (525 E. Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50309). Breastival is a Breast Cancer Awareness benefit, but this is not your mother's bake sale. There will be live music from local bands, door prizes, a silent auction and the beautiful breatival babes. This year's line-up includes Rocket Transfer (alternative rock/pop), Dark Mirror (metal with classic rock roots) and Human Epidemic (metal with a mix of screaming and clean vocals).

A list of donations and prizes is coming to their website soon... but we can tell you that we, the Evil Slut Clique, have donated a super special gift basket that you know you want to win!

Just a sampling of items in the Evil Slut Clique's donation to Breastival

Some Breast Cancer Resources
American Breast Cancer Founation
National Breast Cancer Foundation
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
American Cancer Society
National Cancer Institute
Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Breast Cancer Action
The Breast Cancer Site
BreastCancer.org
BreastCancer.net
Breast Cancer Care
Breast Cancer Campaign
About.com: Breast Cancer Prevention

After today, we will no longer be Pink for October. Why? October is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month and GLBT History Month. So for the rest of the month we will be going purple for October. We are still supporting and honoring the breast cancer awareness cause, however it's not the only important issue facing women today. We hope that you will all support all three of these causes this October, in addition to all the other important issues women - and men - face every month.


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