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

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.

The Pink Ribbon Campaign – The Untold Story

We all know about the pink ribbon campaign.  A large variety of companies have taken up the cause represented by the pink ribbons, and more recently, the colour pink on its own.

Pink Ribbon Campaign

This campaign is aimed at funding research to find a cure for breast cancer.  We all know women who have been faced with this terrifying disease, many of them having had to confront the illness on more than one occasion.  It’s saddening, frightening and maddening all at the same time.  I know a few people who have been faced with breast cancer.  Knowing that, I have no hesitation in supporting research to cure this illness.

So, why should you think twice?

There’s no doubt in my mind that there is value in funding research into any disease or illness that plagues our society.  Breast cancer, unfortunately, is one of those.  The rub is that many of the companies who adopt the pink ribbon campaign also make products that use ingredients that could contribute to breast cancer or promote a lifestyle that is not the healthiest.

For example, last October, Mike’s Hard Lemonade came out with a Pink Hard Lemonade in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Another strange application of the pink ribbon campaign is  KFC’s pink bucket campaign.  Really?  A fast food chain that sells junk food is supporting the pink ribbon campaign?  I applaud the effort, but how about taking it one step further and selling food that will promote a healthier lifestyle?  For me, it just doesn’t add up.

This practice is called Pink Washing.  It is the practice of companies supporting the pink ribbon campaign while continuing to use or produce merchandise or other products that could be harmful to a breast cancer patient.

Pink Ribbons Inc.

Pink Ribbons Inc. is a new documentary, created by Montreal filmmaker Lea Pool at the request of the National Film Board.

In this article, published in the Montreal Gazette on January 27, 2012, we get an advance view of this new documentary.  The write tells us that we will learn about companies like Estee Lauder and AVON which both support the pink ribbon campaign while continuing to produce and sell makeup that uses questionable ingredients.

Breast Cancer and Pinkwashing both receive a lot of attention during the month of October.  That is breast cancer awareness month and we are all bombarded with information from both fundraisers and awareness raisers about the campaign.  However, even as I walked through the mall last week or listened to the radio, I heard and saw advertisements for opportunities to support the pink ribbon campaign.  I heard advertisements for the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers…already! It’s never ending.  The good news is that this new documentary opens soon.  Look for Pink Ribbons, Inc. in Canadian theatres Feb. 3 and in the U.S. in April.  I expect it to be informative and eye opening.

Transparency

Please don’t get me wrong.  I’m all for fundraising to find cures for breast cancer and all of the other terrible disease that have taken or affected those close to us.  In order to fully support that cause, I simply need to know that my fundraising dollars are being handled in the most transparent way. To me, that means that the companies who promote and participate in the pink ribbon campaign need to ensure they themselves are not doing anything that is counter to the purpose of the fundraising.