The "pinkification" of October has included various pink campaigns including those involving the White House's rose-colored exterior lighting, Delta Air Lines flight attendants serving pink lemonade in a plane painted with a pink ribbon, and National Football League (NFL) players wearing special uniforms, in honor of the yearly National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). However, some women's groups question whether the good goals and millions of dollars raised are actually helping the cause of finding a cure for the severe disease.
NBCAM was founded in 1985 when the American Cancer Society (ACS) and a British drug company teamed up. Some breast cancer activists refer to the October tradition as "pinkwashing."
Daniela Campari is the senior vice president for marketing of the ACS. She thanks Delta flight attendants dressed in pink uniforms for participating in NBCAM, according to The New York Times.
However, critics argue that "breast cancer awareness" is now a general term that that is connected with catching the disease early through screening tests. Pink campaigns are also a way for many types of companies to use the color to market products.
They point out that little progress has been made in some areas. For example, the number of breast cancer cases has not decreased much, and there is no cure for patients whose cancer has spread to the liver and other organs.
Breast Cancer Action is an activist group that argues companies have spent billions of dollars on pink ribbon products, but that has produced few results. The group wants more action taken.
Some women's health groups such as the National Women's Health Network agree. Executive director Cindy Pearson said that the pinkification of October includes many products such as coffee cups and football cleats, but are not helping women.
Campari shared that one ACS goal during Breast Cancer Awareness Month's pink campaign is to encourage women to get mammograms. However, it also shares the importance of a healthy diet, regular exercise, and cancer treatments.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women. Around 1 in 8 United States women develop the disease sometime during their lifetimes, according to BreastCancer.org.