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Carrie Spector, 415/243-9301
Michelle Mulkey, 415/901-0111

As Corporate Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns Ask Us to Lick, Charge, and Vacuum Our Way to a Cure, Consumers Urged to “Think Before You Pink”

Avon, Yoplait, and American Express Among Corporate “Pinkwashers” That Cash In on the Disease, Says Breast Cancer Action

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Before consumers Clean for the Cure or Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye by taking part in the many heavily promoted corporate campaigns during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Action is urging them think twice: their donations may do more to boost the sponsoring company’s profits and image than help people with, and at risk for, the disease.

“Breast cancer today is big business. More and more companies are using breast cancer as a marketing ploy to sell products and promote their brand while donating very little to the cause,” said Barbara Brenner, executive director of Breast Cancer Action, a national breast cancer advocacy organization whose “Think Before You Pink” campaign is seeking to raise a different kind of “awareness” during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“We’re urging consumers to ‘think before they pink’—because as long as we believe we’re doing something meaningful about breast cancer by buying into these corporate marketing schemes, the real work that needs to be done around treatment, prevention, and access to care will continue to be under-funded and ignored,” said Brenner.

To draw attention to the troubling trend of corporate “pinkwashing,” Breast Cancer Action is running an ad in the national edition of the New York Times in October highlighting some high-profile corporate marketing campaigns (for a full list and a preview look at the ad, please visit www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org). Among the campaigns are:

• Eureka’s “Clean for a Cure” campaign. With each sale of a $170 Whirlwind LiteSpeed vacuum cleaner, Eureka will donate $1 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. “We can wear the pink ribbon with pride, knowing that the sale of the WhirlWind LiteSpeed vacuums that we manufacture will generate money to raise awareness and fight the disease,” Eureka’s promotional materials proclaim.
• Avon’s “Kiss Goodbye to Breast Cancer” campaign. Avon is promoting a limited edition of lipsticks with names such as “Brave Brocade,” "Courageous Coral," and “Determined Red." One dollar of each $4 lipstick sold will go to the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, which funds selected breast cancer organizations and research institutions.
• Yoplait Yogurt’s “Save Lids to Save Lives” campaign donates ten cents for each lid mailed between September 1 and December 31. A woman would have to eat three containers of Yoplait every day throughout the four-month campaign to raise $36 by its close date.

In response to these big-budget cause-marketing efforts, Breast Cancer Action’s “Think Before You Pink” campaign is urging consumers to ask the following questions before opening their pocketbooks:

• How much money actually goes to the cause?
• Who gets the money? Is it an organization that you think is doing important work?
• What types of programs are being supported?

Breast Cancer Action is posting contact information for the CEOs of Eureka, Avon, and others on www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org so that consumers can write them directly if they object to how their donations are being spent.

“Last year the incidence of invasive breast cancer in America was projected to jump five percent from the previous year. That’s nearly 200,000 new cases,” said Brenner. “’Think Before You Pink’ is not about discouraging people from taking action — far from it. It’s about encouraging consumers to follow the money and be savvier about how they give and whom they give to.”
Breast Cancer Action is urging people to support organizations that are working to improve the lives of people with and at risk for breast cancer by securing access to quality health care for all women and advocating for research that examines the environmental links to breast cancer in order to stop cancer where it starts.

Breast Cancer Action carries the voices of people affected by breast cancer to inspire and compel the changes necessary to end the breast cancer epidemic. For more information, go to www.bcaction.org.