Fundraising Warning “Think Before You Pink”

It sounds noble: a cosmetics company promises consumers that if they buy one of its products a portion of the sale will go toward “the fight against breast cancer.”

But what if that product contains ingredients that might actually increase the risk of developing the disease?

To draw attention to the troubling trend of corporate “pinkwashing,” Breast Cancer Action, a national grassroots breast cancer advocacy organization, is running an ad in the national edition of the New York Times (see www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org) questioning some high-profile corporate marketing campaigns launched in connection with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“We're not opposed to companies raising money for the cause,” said Barbara Brenner, Breast Cancer Action's executive director. “We're concerned about companies claiming to support the fight against breast cancer while manufacturing products that may be contributing to rising rates of the disease. They can't have it both ways.”

Breast Cancer Action offers examples of corporate “pinkwashers”:

• Cosmetics companies such as Avon , Revlon, Estee Lauder and Mary Kay all direct a percentage of their profits toward efforts against breast cancer. They also manufacture products containing phthalates and/or parabens, hormone-disrupting chemicals that may affect the development of cancer.


• BMW's “ Ultimate Drive ” campaign entices prospective customers to test-drive one of its vehicles by promising $1 to a breast cancer foundation for every mile test-driven. Components of car exhaust known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been linked to breast cancer and a host of other illnesses. (Ford, General Motors, and Mercedes-Benz also sponsor breast cancer promotions.)

Breast Cancer Action's Think before You Pink campaign is urging consumers to pressure corporate “pinkwashers” to explore alternatives to chemicals (such as parabens and phthalates, in the case of cosmetics) that are known or suspected to promote cancer development.

 “Laboratory studies have shown that chemicals that mimic or otherwise interfere with hormones are associated with the development of breast cancer,” says Ruthann Rudel, a scientist with the Silent Spring Institute in Newton , Massachusetts , a research organization focused on uncovering preventable causes of breast cancer. “Chemicals that mimic estrogen make human breast cancer cells grow in the laboratory and a number of potent estrogens are known to cause breast cancer in humans.”

Evidence suggests that young females with developing breast tissue are particularly vulnerable to this risk. Avon recently launched a cosmetics line aimed at teenagers and began recruiting young women as sales representatives, with youth sales taking place at slumber parties and other gatherings. “As Avon expands its reach to younger age groups, the potential dangers of its products are of even greater concern,” Brenner said.

Breast Cancer Action supports further research into the causes of the breast cancer, particularly environmental links, in order to identify ways to prevent the disease and stem rising rates. The organization is also concerned about the lack of coordination of breast cancer research funding.

 “The interest in breast cancer fund raising is encouraging,” Brenner said, “but, we have no idea how much these companies are raising or how it's being spent. What happens to the money that does make it to the cause? Millions of dollars are raised every year in the name of breast cancer, but no one is coordinating all of our research efforts or making sure they move us forward toward effective breast cancer treatments and true breast cancer prevention. Incidence rates climb year after year.”

“Throwing increasing amounts of money at the problem has not brought us any closer to solving it,” Brenner pointed out. “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, access to care and true breast cancer prevention will continue to be under-funded and ignored.”

Source: Breast Cancer Action Media Release