Breast Cancer Awareness VIDEO: Watch Out For Misleading Pink Labels

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month, and breast cancer is not the only thing you should be aware of. The next time you see pink packaging beckoning you from the shopping aisle, don't fall for it right away - sometimes, pink is just pink. According to a report by Wish TV, some products (especially cleaning supplies) just slap some pink on their packaging and a "Breast Cancer Awareness" emblem, but don't take it a step further by donating any proceeds. There's arguably nothing wrong with making people aware of Breast Cancer Awareness month. However, it's clearly a marketing ploy, as consumers understandably assume that a pink ribbon equals a donation. So instead of donating to the cause, the company actually capitalizes off of it.

Things are also ambiguous when it comes to companies that are making donations. Breast Cancer Action, the watchdog of the breast cancer movement, is a great resource for tracking down information such as: how much money is being donated per purchase, to what organization, and for what kind of research. The Better Business Bureau also issued a warning of fake pink ribbons and how to avoid being duped. A simple way of spotting products that definitely donate to the cause is by looking for the pink ribbon paired with a dot, which is the symbol for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Bottom line: Think before you buy pink.

Comments

[KellerLee]

04:13 PM on 10/15/2009

You know, it's really disturbing that companies are using breast cancer as a means to have people buy their products. Sad that we have to keep a watch out like this!! I donate some when I know that it's a Susan G Komen product but I also have chosen to invest in various breast cancer treatments to help push them along through the FDA trials. It's a different way of giving back this month, but if I lose money, that's fine, it ALL went to a good cause!! http://breastcancerinvesting.com