Pink ribbon products have been around for thirty years, yet the breast cancer epidemic doesn’t seem a whole lot closer to being over in 2013 than it did some decades ago. That’s not a very promising thought. Even less cheerful is the fact that while pink ribbon products make billions of dollars, over 40,000 women die of breast cancer each year.
Most horrifyingly, many corporations that sell pink ribbon products actually produce them with the use of chemicals that are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer! The Breast Cancer Action campaign calls this hypocritical production “pinkwashing” They are working to hold corporations accountable for their toxic pink ribbon products.
Why is pinkwashing so prevalent? The United State’s chemical policy, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSA) is highly outdated and doesn’t provide adequate means to regulate chemical use and protect public health. Over 80,000 chemicals are in use in the United States, but only about 200 of them have been tested for human safety. That’s a pretty appalling percentage! Many of these untested chemicals can be found in products most of use every day, from pink ribbon products to plastics, paint, clothing, and cleaning supplies. In 2010, the President’s Cancer Panel reported that “the true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated [and] … the American people — even before they are born — are bombarded continually with myriad combinations of these dangerous exposures.”
This fall, a coalition of health activists, environmentalists, scientists, and other concerned citizens are working to pass TSA reform legislation that could enact a bill that would represent the biggest win for cancer prevention in history. In the meantime, why not consider reducing your own chemical use and boycotting pink ribbon products made with cancer-causing chemicals this October?
Read the entire article here: All Pinked Out in October? There’s a Cure for That! Join the Think Before You Pink Campaign
