Many retailers are selling Pink items in their stores now in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Do you support by buying Pink? Making a donation yourself?
Zellers currently has many new Think Pink Items and 10% of the proceeds go to the Foundation. They offer everything from keychains to winter jackets. Click here to view Zellers Think Pink Items
What’s the coolest Pink item you’ve seen?
For me it’s the pink Drum Kit I recently spotted in my boyfriend’s Long & MacQuade flyer. It’s a set of Pearl Drums and it’s not only gorgeous but they will donate $200 for each kit purchased! Also, if you purchase the drum kit there’s a printable coupon for a FREE set of cymbals, a carrying bag and Vater sticks.
Click here to print your coupon
Roots is currently selling watches in support of Rethink Breast Cancer (www.rethinkbreastcancer.com). 10% off the proceeds from these watches will go towards Rethink Breast Cancer. Personally, I think they could have offered a larger percentage of the proceeds, but it is better than nothing. You can view the watches at:
http://canada.roots.com/women_watches/womensWatches,default,sc.html?pageSize=1000
LOVE this drum kit! 🙂
Not exactly a consumer item, but I thought it was really cool to see a pink cement truck in a new construction subdivision in Stratford ON.
@ jeo – thanks!!
@ Shannon – WOW!
We actually saw this drum kit in person Downtown Toronto and omg it’s gorgeous!!
I suggest watching this documentary before deciding on purchasing a pink ribbon product (I’m not saying I agree or disagree, just trying to help people make informed choice on where their money is being spent).
The documentary is called Pink Ribbon Inc
http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/pink-ribbons-inc/trailer
I really don’t see what that 3nibute trailer has to do with this post….
opps.. 3minute
That trailer has a lot to do with this post & Cahansmom’s comment has everything to do with the topic – it’s a very valid aspect to to inject into the discussion.
Here’s are some reviews about the film: http://www.nfb.ca/events/tiff/press-coverage
I’m looking forward to getting to see this. I’ve long held opinions on corporate ‘awareness’ campaigns that are ‘so generous’ as to donate money on the consumer’s behalf, and the pink ribbon campaign in particular has always baffled me. I’m not staunchly against it, but most of the merch/marketing out there is blatantly self-serving.
I do like the drum kit though… not necessarily for the sake of ‘the cause’… I just covet it’s pink fabulousness.
I saw some pink toilet paper today for sale in the local Save-on!
That is one sweet looking drum set and even a sweeter deal.
I think what consumers need to be aware of are limits on how much the company is donating, if there’s more product packaged and produced with the pink ribbon, then you need to reconsider that companies values (using the campaign for profit).
Secondly, I’d refuse to purchase anything that says “proceeds to support breast cancer awareness campaigns”. I’m aware, I get it, what happened to the research?
This site has a lot of great resources, it’s American, but still applicable to the pink campaign in Canada. http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/
(From the website)
Critical Questions to Ask Before You Buy Pink
1. How much money from your purchase actually goes toward breast cancer? Is the amount clearly stated on the package?
When the package does state the amount of the donation, is that amount enough? Fox Home Entertainment, for example, sold “DVDs for the Cure” for $14.95 and donated 50 cents to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Is this a significant contribution, or a piddly amount? You decide. If you can’t tell how much money is being donated, or if you don’t think it’s enough, give directly to the organization instead.
2. What is the maximum amount that will be donated?
Many companies place a cap on the amount of money that will be donated. For example, Give Hope Jeans, sold by White House Black Market for $88, donated “net proceeds” from the sale to the organization Living Beyond Breast Cancer. But they’ve capped their contributions at $200,000. This means that once they had reached the $200,000 limit they stopped contributing, no matter how many pairs of jeans were purchased.
In some cases, that cap is a generous amount. In some cases it’s not. But you should know that, whenever there is a cap, your individual purchase may not contribute anything to the cause, depending on when you shop and whether the cap has already been met.
3. How are the funds being raised?
Does making the purchase ensure a contribution to the cause? Or do you, the shopper, have to jump through hoops to make sure the money gets where it’s supposed to go? Lean Cuisine, for example, had a pink ribbon on its boxes of frozen meals, but the purchase of the meal did not result in a donation to a breast cancer organization. Instead, consumers had to visit the Lean Cuisine web site and buy a pink Lean Cuisine lunch tote. Only then would $5 of the tote purchase be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
4. To what breast cancer organization does the money go, and what types of programs does it support?
Does the product’s package tell you where the money goes and what will be done with it? For example, Penn is selling pink tennis balls and the package states that 15 cents of your purchase will go to “a Breast Cancer Research Organization.” It doesn’t tell you which organization or what kind of research will be done. Will the money go to fund the same studies that have been ongoing for decades (which already get enormous financial support)? Or will it go to under-funded, innovative research into the causes of breast cancer?
If the donation is going to breast cancer services, is it reaching the people most in need, in the most effective way? The Breast Cancer Site store, for example, donates money to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, which helps pay for mammograms for women who cannot afford them. But mammograms are already covered for low-income women through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program. Although this screening program does have limitations, what is most needed is the funding to get low-income women treatment if breast cancer is found. Click here to learn more about this issue.
5. What is the company doing to assure that its products are not actually contributing to the breast cancer epidemic?
Many companies that raise funds for breast cancer also make products that are linked to the disease. Breast Cancer Action calls these companies “pinkwashers.” BMW, for example, gives $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure each time you test-drive one of their cars, even though pollutants found in car exhaust are linked to breast cancer. Many cosmetics companies whose products contain chemicals linked to breast cancer also sell their items for the cause.
Susan G. Komen Foundation is a US organization. I’d want to be contributing to a Canadian entity that was local or nationwide that helps support people after the OHIP-funded 15 weeks of help was over.
BTW, it is valid to look at the other side of all of the pink ribbon causes/marketing campaigns as there is a lot of money involved and the main treatment is still radiation?? I see that equipment manufacturers, marketing firms, fundraising campaigns and printers would all be affected if the pink ribbon merchandise advertising campaigns were to be curtailed. That means jobs and money.