"Pink Washed" October

A friend sent me an email the other day from Breast Cancer Action about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It noted how during this month everything and anything would be covered in pink as a step towards understanding and helping battle this disease.

I have several friends who have had breast cancer. It’s something I take very seriously.

The email when on to implore the three major car makers who are somehow linking their pink cars to help “end the epidemic,” Ford, BMW and Mercedes to hold their horses.

One of the many causes of breast cancer, they point out, is car emissions. Instead of “pink washing” their products, why don’t they make them safer? With fewer emissions?

The website you must visit is www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org.

There are a lot of well-intentioned people out there- myself included- who tend to pick up the product with the pink ribbon on it. Everything helps, right? Not necessarily. And we can’t let companies get away with putting ribbons on their products- like Estee Lauder and Avon- and not “sign the Compact for Safe Cosmetics, promising to take carcinogens and reproductive toxins out of their products.”

Huh?

Pink ribbons will mean nothing on a dead woman’s coffin.

So before you “Shop for the Cure,” stop at the website listed above and check out other things you can do to help end the disease.