The Top 10 Breast Cancer Toxins

Raising Awareness

I made it my mission this week to post about the October Breast Cancer Awareness campaign each day, in some form.

Think Before you Pink

Pinkwashing

Unfortunately, this month of pink ribbons brings out a lot of pinkwashing, which can be misleading to people who sincerely want to support the campaign.

Clean Campaigns

Pink Ribbon

Fortunately, there are many clean campaigns out there as well. In my humble opinion, it’s important to research each campaign and cause to ensure that you know what you are supporting.

To round out this week’s posts, I’ll leave you with one last thought.  This is a post by Goddess Huntress that outlines a few common toxins that are worth your time to avoid when it comes to skin care and cleaning products.  Please check it out!

Related Posts:

October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Pinktober – Are you Well Aware of Breast Cancer Awareness Month Yet?

Pink Thinkin’ Hard At Work

Blog ‘n Raise It

Pinkwashing – Please Think Before you Pink

Blog ‘n Raise It! Fundraising For A Cause. Join Us!

This is a great example of a grass roots fundraising effort, all to support the cause of cancer.

SweetJellyBean.com: Beauty, Blog Tweaks

After the immense support from the bloggers, who participated the ‘Blog Pink’ campaign to raise breast cancer awareness for this month, I knew there was something else that could be done than just blogging about it. It may have taken weeks for me to finally pull that courage together, but when I got a reply from Cancer Research UK and the next step I could take, I felt inspired even more.

So, for the very first time, I would like to present to you what could be — with your support — the very first blog-based fundraising movement for a cause, created by a blogger, for all the bloggers, subscribers, readers, and those who believe  that the blogosphere has a ‘voice’ to inspire and spread the word, it’s called Blog ‘n Raise It! 

http://www.justgiving.com/Blog ‘n Raise It

If you ask me, is it not too late to fundraise, since we’re…

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Pink Thinkin’ Hard at Work

It’s no secret that I take issue with companies that engage in pinkwashing.  That is, using the pink ribbon campaign to their advantage while continuing to support practices that contribute to breast cancer.  There are many examples of pinkwashing, especially in October.

Fortunately, there are lots of examples of great applications of the Pink Ribbon campaign and I’ve been lucky enough to find a couple.

Clean Campaigns

Jane Iredale contributes to Living Beyond Breast Cancer.  The Jane Iredale line appears to me to use only natural products and avoids ingredients that have been linked to cancer.  The only make-up I use these days is from Jane Iredale and I love it.  For that reason, I would feel comfortable supporting the Jane Iredale cosmetic company in their Pink Ribbon efforts.

I recently saw an advertisement for a free online summit that is dedicated to healing cancer.  It’s the 2nd Annual Healing Cancer World Summit.  What I liked about the ad was that it touted all kinds of remedies, including some more natural treatments.  Now, I don’t know how effective those would be.  I DO like the fact that there are folks out there who are willing to spend their time spreading their knowledge without charging.

Bright Pink

Just yesterday, Tianna at Story Book Apothecary told me about Acure Organics.  This company is dedicated to using the, “purest, most effective fair trade, natural and organic ingredients available”.  Not only do they use great ingredients in their products, they also provide a list of ingredients to avoid that are found in other skin care products.  Acure partners with Bright Pink to support the search for a cure for cancer.  For example, Acure Organics donates $1.00 to Bright Pink for each Argan Oil and Oil Control Day Cream they sell.   Bright Pink is a national non-profit organization that focuses on prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer.  This is a great example of a partnership between a company that walks the talk and also financially supports an organization dedicated to the search for a cure for cancer.

What cancer or breast cancer campaigns do you support?

Pinktober – Are you Well Aware of the October Breast Cancer Awareness Month Yet?

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Everywhere you look, there are pink ribbons to remind you of October’s theme.

If you read my post on this topic from earlier this week, you’ll already know that I have a slightly different view of this particular campaign.  I’m all for supporting research to find a cure, to any disease.  I’m all for educating myself and others on ways to help ourselves by leading a healthier lifestyle and using safer skin care products.

I’m must less in favour of a campaign that appears to full of contradictions and involves the practice of pinkwashing.  Last week, I read this article called, “Rethinking Pinktober: Are We More Aware of “Breast Cancer Awareness” Than the Disease Itself?”. I thought it made some decent, well thought-out points, about the Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. 

In a nutshell, it challenges the campaign to go beyond raising awareness and actually funding the research that is needed. I encourage you to read it.  If nothing else, it will present an alternate point of view.

October 2012 – Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

So many women have suffered from this disease. I know or have known many of them in my own circle of friends. Undoubtedly, a cure for breast cancer would be a miracle.  Much marketing efforts that go into this month of awareness are misguided.

Pinkwashing

This year, I’m struggling with this campaign, just as I did last year.  It seems that there are pink ribbons everywhere and they are being used to promote all kinds of products.

Often, it seems that those products are made by companies that are working against the prevention of breast cancer.  I went on a rant about this last year and won’t repeat the same here.  You can see some examples of what I’m talking about by clicking here.  This practice is referred to as Pinkwashing.  If you’re interested in seeing more examples of Pinkwashing, check out The Pinkwashing Hall of Shame Facebook page.

I’ll just mention one ad that I saw this year that quite frankly, offended me.  In my personal opinion, this ad is aimed at nothing more than breast size and shape, all under the guise of the pink ribbon campaign.  This simply can’t be the best way to raise awareness, can it?

Taking Proactive and Effective Action

I have tried to adopt a lifestyle that extends well beyond the month of October into the rest of the year.  The more I learn, the more important I think it is to use safe cosmetics and skin care, safe cleaning product and to adopt a cleaner lifestyle in general.

• I try to avoid unnecessary chemicals whenever I can.
• When I buy skin care products, I support companies that use clean ingredients and ‘walk the talk‘.
• When possible, I share what I learned so that others may also benefit.
• When I see a product or campaign attached to a pink ribbon, I do my best to understand how legitimate it is.  After all, there are lots of legitimate pink ribbon campaigns out there.  It’s important for me to do my research so that I am satisfied that I’m supporting the cause well.

Really Think Pink!

I encourage all of you to ensure that, if you support and promote the Pink Ribbon campaign this month, be sure to satisfy yourself that your efforts and dollars are well placed.