I ‘think pink” during Breast Cancer Awareness Month for very personal reasons.  The main two reasons are that I feel it honors my mother who died from the disease and also it gets people thinking about their boobs and taking care of them.

I have no delusions that wearing pink or buying pink products will make a huge impact on breast cancer deaths.  What will save lives along with research, is women being proactive about their health and checking themselves regularly.  Women being their own best advocate and talking to their doctors about questions or concerns.  And if seeing a little pink ribbon reminds them to do this then it is worthwhile.

Many companies will sell items with a pink ribbon on them telling you they donate money to breast cancer causes.  They market their products in pink packaging and it makes consumers feel their money is going toward a good cause.  It makes us feel good that our purchase is making a difference.  In some cases this is true.  But unfortunately, in other cases it is not.  Some companies only donate a minute fraction to breast cancer organizations yet reap the rewards of higher sales because consumers believe their money is helping breast cancer.  They also reap the rewards of positive publicity because the public then sees them in an altruistic light. The NFL came under fire for this just last year.

There is a huge backlash against all things pink. People believing that we should get rid of the whole pink thing altogether.  That it distracts from the cause and from truly understanding and helping advance breast cancer research.  Part of this is true.  People feel if they buy a can of soup with a pink ribbon on it they have done their part.  The organization thinkbeforeyoupink.org encourages consumers to ask more questions of companies that say they participate breast cancer in fundraising.  They ask for transparency and that is not such a bad thing.

Whenever I see a company with a breast cancer fundraising effort, I will ask the employees how much of the money actually goes to breast cancer.  Sometimes the employees know and sometimes we have to do a little digging to find out.  Here are some companies that I have found that do a respectable job of actually getting our money into the hands of breast cancer awareness and research organizations.

ULTA – According to their website, you can donate $1 for a chance to win a $598 beauty bag and 100% of the money goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

On October 12 they will also be having a cut-a-thon where a $5-$10 donation gets you various gift items and 100% of the proceeds go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  Way to go ULTA!

VONS/Pavillions is donating to breast cancer this month.  When I asked how much of the proceeds actually go toward the cause, I was told 100%

Ralphs is donating 3 million dollars to breast cancer research, detection, and treatment programs through their Sharing Courage program.

P.F. Changs is donating $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation for every selfie posted on social media in front of their huge horses which have been painted pink this month.  They also are donating $1 for every sushi roll ordered.

Forever 21- $1 of each item marked with a ribbon goes toward the Keep A Breast Foundation which focuses on education about breast cancer prevention.

These are just a few companies that seem to really be donating to breast cancer and not just benefitting from the positive publicity.  They are walking the talk!

I do think the pink thing can get overwhelming in October.   I am certainly contributing to that through my 31 Days of Pink.  Honestly, this is Day 11 and I am SO sick of pink!!!

However, like I said, focusing on pink this month is a way for me to think about my mom and what an amazing woman she was (even more than I do already).  But most importantly, it is a way to get women, and men, to think about and learn about breast cancer and to take charge of their health.

If there are questions about what organizations do with your breast cancer dollars you can always check charity watch.

So this month, if you choose to “think pink” in support of companies that say they are donating to breast cancer, just make sure you are asking questions.  Be an informed consumer because there are companies out there that are doing it right, we just need to make sure we find them.

If you know of other companies that are walking the talk for breast cancer feel free to give them a shout out in the comments!

Pink love and salty kisses,

Karen