Get ready... "Pink season" is already starting!

Sat up last night writing to Lucy Activewear.  I'm a loyal wearer of Lucy perfect core pants, the most expensive workout pants I've ever bought and to me, the best I've ever worked out in because of compression and also found perfect for a Diep recovery - the hip-to-hip incision area.  I go on the Lucy site last night and see they now have "breast cancer awareness" (BCA) wear, claiming get ready for the race, Lucy outfits inspired by YOUR support, and there in lies the rub. I clicked to see the new clothing line, with pink ribbons motifs emblazoned on the front of four tops and pink shorts.  I read nothing of BCA support by Lucy Activewear or any percentage of BCA sales going to a nominated breast cancer charity.    

I found on the contact page an email address and wrote them asking:

Any company can put a pink ribbon on its products. The widely recognized pink ribbon symbol is not regulated by any agency and does not necessarily mean it effectively combats the breast cancer epidemic.  Can you tell me how much money from my purchase of Lucy BCA wear will go to support breast cancer programs?  Can you please tell me what breast cancer programs Lucy supports? 

Within a few hours this was the response:

<font>I regret to inform you that we don't have an affiliation with any charities at this time including BCA, however we do hope to in the future.</font>

I then sent this letter asking it to be passed to management:

Lucy Activewear Management,

The pink ribbon represents fear of breast cancer, hope for the future, and the charitable goodness of people and businesses who publicly support the breast cancer movement. It is intended to evoke solidarity with women who currently have breast cancer.

Breast cancer organizations use the pink ribbon to associate themselves with breast cancer, to promote breast cancer awareness, and to support fundraising. Some breast cancer-related organizations, such as Pink Ribbon International, use the pink ribbon as their primary symbol.

While specifically representing breast cancer awareness, the pink ribbon is also a symbol and a proxy of goodwill towards women in general. Buying, wearing, displaying, or sponsoring pink ribbons signals that the person or business cares about women. The pink ribbon is a marketing brand for businesses that allows them to promote themselves with women and identify themselves as being socially aware. Compared to other women's issues, promoting breast cancer awareness is politically safe.

Because the pink ribbon is not licensed by any corporation, it is more open to being abused by businesses that donate little or none of their revenue to breast cancer research. While companies such as Estée Lauder have distributed over 70 million pink ribbons, and donated over $25 million to breast cancer research, other companies have been discovered using the pink ribbon inappropriately—either by not donating their profits, or by using the pink ribbon on products that include ingredients which cause cancer.

The misuse of marketing campaigns by businesses using the pink ribbon on their products have been described as pinkwashing, which was coined by Breast Cancer Action. They use the term to highlight companies or products which feature a pink ribbon, without donating money to charity, or with no transparency regarding where the funds are going.

Lucy Activewear has confirmed to me, that it does not have any scheme in place to offer a percentage of sales of  "breast cancer awareness" clothing (BAC).  By not standing with women, such as myself, (a woman recovering breast cancer), by  having no accountability or non-profit giving in place regarding BAC sales, Lucy Activewear are colluding to profit from breast cancer and conspiring in corporate hypocrisy.  I urge you to immediately put in place a process whereby an appropriate contribution of revenue from the sale of BCA promoted products, that is transferred quickly to breast cancer charities in need of funding, in a manner that is clearly visible to your customers. 

Please advise the action you intend to take.

Of course, no response.  I plan on sending a snail mail letter of the same today.

If you have read this far, thank you and any of you lovely women care to join me in getting Lucy Activewear to stop the pinkwashing?

I am currently a volunteer on the planning committee for the American Cancer Society | Strides Against Breast Cancer. I also have a team…mdg is our #2 fund raiser!

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Anyway I have been out twice this summer handing out literature about the walk in the city. I have also been placing signs and brochures in public places. As much as you hate this it is important to get people thinking about it. I know I was pretty niave about this disease till I got it. If I knew then what I know now I know for sure this would have been found earlier.

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6 weeks ago I got a call from some other local breast cancer organization. The gal on the phone says to me "Do you realize that 230,480 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the US?" She was talking a mile a minute.

I finally got her to stop and said "Do you know that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer?" She cut me off "yes I do." Then I cut back "That means that one out of every women you speak to on the phone has probably been diagnosed… and I'm one of them."

I told her that they need to train the people there better as far as what they say on the phone. I felt bad I reacted that way but you would think the very people that are pinking would be a bit mor sensitive. I mean 1 out of 8 women also means that even more of the people she talks to know somebody close to them that have/died the disease.

I am so totally going to use your line "no thanks, I just donated my breasts!"  I think that's great.  I'm sure it's wrong but I enjoy putting people off about stuff like that

Much as I hate the pink washing and merchandising,it does keep others aware that we exist and that BC is epidemic. Much fundraising is going on this Oct here and the drs all have the pink flyers out for all the charity events. I will not be able to attend as I will be on vacay.

Prevention mag Oct 2012 issue has a special report on all the progress made so far and the tests/treatments/vaccines etc. coming up for review with the FDA. Does Canada have anything like an FDA? thats the US food and drug administration. LifeExtension mag says the FDA is a bunch of murderers because they approve drugs that hurt people and do not approve drugs that would save lives. I need to go back to work and stop reading mags! I was off this wk to get my implants. I was fine until I found out you gotta massage them,pass the pain pills please.

lago,I like how they use the word "massage",its not what I would use,its more like "push the puppy game" up and out to keep the top of the pocket open says my PS cause once they drop it could close and trap the implant and that would cause problems. Its getting better tho,the cancer side hurts still cause it was all bruised up but weird it dropped and is trying to fluff.

I am trying to get my PS to help me figure out these bras. Is it too snug is you get pink imprints from wearing it? I get prints where the band goes around me and light imprints where it goes under my arm and the zipper imprints right above my tummy. Maybe I should get a different one in a larger size? I have some others but they dont have zippers and are a pain to try and get on but once on they dont fit as tight as the one with the zipper. She didnt say anything about the imprints but the MO told me it was cause I still had swelling and not to worry about the bra size yet. They both told me Absolutely No Underwires at this point. Odd how some PS want the underwires. All my regular bras are underwire,padded and I dont really wanna go back to that. I asked if the Coobie or Genie bra would be ok and the PS said she would allow it later this yr but for now gotta stay in snuggie tight sportsbra. Not liking this!

Layla2525, I'm in sports bras and I bought them on Amazon (high cotton content and different colors) and also at the superstore.  They are light, not too tight or loose and found size medium works best for me, no marks and these are very 'snuggie' like and comfortable.  I also sleep in a bra and have done so since Diep surgery.  My gimpy lefty was terribly bruised and bright blue before surgery.  Weekly seen physio, massages my breast and the hip incisional graft area.

We should all be aware of the pinkwashing going on. It's happening on both sides!!! I actually think the profusion of "pink" started early this year.

Lilac,the PS gave me "massages" that I do myself which are supposed to prevent the contracture or the firming up on the new boobs.

Hope it works.

I keep posting on FB my link to my fundraising page on facebook for the ACS Strides walk. I have received lots of donations from FB friends… some I have never met in person.

Sorry to be a pinkwasher but it is helping to raise funds

I still think I'm going to buy the pink duct tape this year. It just cracks me up.

Hi Everyone,

I felt before Dx that all the pink was to help get the word out, but JCP had a whole pink women's clothing section last fall.   Daughter and I were turned off.

DLB - Perfect timing for this thread - I was waiting for my son outside my BS office yesterday - I could not believe all the pink ribbons passing me on the busy road by her office - There were cement mixers from a company whose logo is a shamrock - now all the shamrocks on the mixers have pink ribbons painted on them. There was also a propane truck that had their entire tank covered with huge pepto-bismol colored painted-on ribbons. The pinkness is everywhere. 

One "pink" event that I simply cannot bear is held each year in my small community. The work center for developmentally delayed adults spends days hanging pink ribbons in all the trees on their property. Next, they indoctrinate the clients into chanting, "Think pink, think pink". So, when shopping in the few stores my town has, constant chants of think pink echo throughout....Sorry to rant, but it's 3:30 a.m. and I am in mental and physical pain. Onc told me yesterday that I most likely have lung mets - bx. this week....Pink does not help me at all!

I would look at the pink FB page as an opportunity. Next time you see a pink page let that person know that donating $5 or $10 dollars to ACS, Livestrong or what ever charity of your preference would do more to combat the disease. Pink page is pretty but the disease isn't. It needs money