Pinkwashing When the Breast Cancer Awareness Movement Loses Focus

Pinkwashing When the Breast Cancer Awareness Movement Loses Focus Photo by pfala via Flickr.com According to Breastcancer.org, “About 1 in 8 U.S. women (just under 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.” Chances are high that if you’re reading this, you know someone who’s fought breast cancer. It’s not a disease that’s just going to go away and the only way to fight it is by spending money on research to hopefully find a cure. The awareness of the disease is here, the money just doesn’t seem to be getting to the labs. The Susan G. Komen foundation, long the spearhead for the Breast Cancer Awareness movement, has donated over $685 million to breast cancer research grants and programs since 1982. That number is staggering. Their “go pink” movement has done a lot to educate both women and men about the disease. However, in recent years, things have changed. According to their 2011 financial report, only about 16% of their revenue went to actual research to fight the disease. Recently, the pinkwashing of America has begun to be exposed. The NFL has been receiving heavy criticism all week in regard to the handling of their breast cancer funding. In a report by the Business Insider, it was revealed that only 5% of all NFL merchandise sales intended to support breast cancer research actually goes toward research. The NFL sure has done a lot to advertise to the public that they support Breast Cancer Awareness month. On every single televised game during the month of October, there will be multiple mentions from the commentating crew of the great work the NFL has done to help in the fight against breast cancer. And yet, last year, they donated $3 million of $9.5 billion in total revenue to the cause. $3 million is nothing to scoff at, but when you advertise selling pink jerseys to supposedly aid research, the amount of money that actually helps should probably amount to more than a handful of change. Maybe we’re being too hard on these corporations. Maybe these aren’t malicious attempts to take advantage of the emotional heartstrings of American consumers. Maybe these companies feel like they’re actually doing some real good. Maybe the disingenuous interests of the NFL are a lone example in a sea of otherwise good intentions. But when you walk into the mall and see 30 different stores advertising breast cancer awareness sales, it’s hard to believe that. Either way, consumers need to wake up. Making your profile picture a pink ribbon on Facebook isn’t accomplishing anything. Slapping a pink ribbon onto the bumper of your car isn’t accomplishing anything either. Awareness is and has been raised. People are more aware now than they’ve ever been. It’s time to take action and put the money into actual research. Breast cancer isn’t going anywhere. So next time you’re in a store and you come across a table adorned with pink shirts and a placard that states, “For every shirt sold, we donate $1 to breast cancer research!” perhaps you should forego the $20 shirt, and just give $5 directly to research. After all, it’s research that’s going to put an end to this disease, not disingenuous marketing techniques. To find out more information about pinkwashing and to donate to a cause that will get your money to the right place, head over to www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org.