Are you over the pink ribbon’

Have you purchase an item specifically because a portion of the proceeds went to a breast cancer’ According to Cone Research 79 percent of consumers would likely switch to a brand that supports a cause, if all other things are equal. I’ll raise my hand I have done it each year I purchase a lunch bags from Lean Cuisine. The bags are great and I get a ton of compliments on them, and I feel good about buying them because money is going to breast cancer.  I look forward to every October so I can get new lunch bags. Well this year Lean Cuisine decided not to do them because they felt with the current economic situation they felt folks wouldn’t be inclined to purchase these lunch bags. Seriously… now more than ever people are bringing their lunch to work and the recycle bag is HUGE!  That’s just my humble opinion. This is how I felt until I read an article in last week’s Pink Overload on Yahoo.

Some cancer survivors and patient view October not as breast cancer awareness but breast cancer reminder month and some are outraged that companies are making money off of other pain and suffering. No other cause marketing has been as profitable as breast cancer merchandise.

Did you know that:

• a product with a pink ribbon is 74% more profitable than a product that doesn’t have a pink ribbon
• the use of the pink ribbon is unregulated
• a company can put a pink ribbon on its product just to “raise awareness”
• in MA you must give an update of total gross revenue generated from “cause marketing” — many companies don’t (shocking)

I am know that I am in conflict, I had a breast cancer scare and was grateful that it was just a scare and I’m glad that money is being raised for a disease that effects 1 and 8 women for when its not just a scare. So tell me below what you think’

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