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{{short description|Symbol of breast cancer awareness}}
{{about|the international symbol of cancer awareness|the documentary film|Pink Ribbons, Inc.{{!}}''Pink Ribbons, Inc.''|the snooker tournament|Pink Ribbon (snooker)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}

[[File:Pink ribbon.svg|100px|right]]

The '''pink ribbon''' is an international symbol of [[breast cancer awareness]]. Pink ribbons, and the color [[pink]] in general, identify the wearer or promoter with the [[breast cancer brand]] and express [[moral support]] for people with [[breast cancer]]. Pink ribbons are most commonly seen during [[National Breast Cancer Awareness Month]].

==History==
[[File:Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon.JPG|right|thumb|250px|100 women who survived [[breast cancer]] carry a pink ribbon and create the fight breast cancer logo.]]{{Insufficient inline citations|section|date=March 2025}}
Charlotte Haley, a breast cancer survivor, introduced the concept of a [[Peach (color)|peach-coloured]] breast cancer awareness ribbon.{{When|date=March 2025}} She attached them to cards which read, “''The [[National Cancer Institute]]’s annual budget is 1.8 billion US dollars, and only 5 percent goes to cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon.''”<ref name=":0" />

Haley's publicity was carried out in a [[grassroots]] manner: she handed thousands of cards out at the local supermarket and wrote to influential US women, including former [[First Lady of the United States|First Ladies]]{{Who|date=March 2025}} and [[Dear Abby]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=History of the Pink Ribbon |url=https://www.bcaction.org/about-think-before-you-pink/resources/history-of-the-pink-ribbon/ |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Breast Cancer Action |language=en}}</ref>

For legal reasons, ''[[Self (magazine)|Self Magazine]]'' and other organisations used pink ribbons to promote awareness of breast cancer, rather than Haley's original peach colour.<ref name=":0" />

==Meaning==
The color [[pink]] is considered feminine in modern Western countries.  It evokes traditional feminine [[gender role]]s, caring for other people, being beautiful, being good, and being cooperative.<ref name="Sulik47">{{cite book|title=Pink Ribbon Blues: How Breast Cancer Culture Undermines Women's Health|url=https://archive.org/details/pinkribbonbluesh0000suli|url-access=registration|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-19-974045-1|location=USA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/pinkribbonbluesh0000suli/page/47 47–48]|oclc=535493589|author=Gayle A. Sulik}}</ref>

The pink ribbon represents the [[courage]] to fight breast cancer, [[hope]] for the future, and the charitable goodness of people and businesses who publicly support the breast cancer movement.<ref>Sulik, 2010.  pages 146–150.</ref> 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.<ref>Sulik, 2010.  pages 124–125.</ref> Some breast cancer-related organizations, such as Pink Ribbon International,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pinkribbon.com |title=Pink Ribbon International |publisher=Pinkribbon.com |access-date=2009-06-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184838/http://www.pinkribbon.com/ |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> use the pink ribbon as their primary symbol. [[Susan G. Komen for the Cure]] uses a stylized "running ribbon" as their logo.<ref>Sulik, 2010. p. 147.</ref>

While specifically representing [[breast cancer awareness]], the pink ribbon is also a [[symbol]] and a [[wikt:proxy|proxy]] of goodwill towards women in general.<ref>Sulik, 2010.  p. 112, 125, 132.</ref> 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.<ref>Sulik, 2010.  p. 67, 132.</ref> Compared to other women's issues, promoting [[breast cancer awareness]] is politically safe.<ref>{{cite book
|author=Olson, James Stuart
|title=Bathsheba's Breast: Women, Cancer, and History
|url=https://archive.org/details/bathshebasbreast00olso
|url-access=registration
|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press
|location=Baltimore
|year=2002
|page=[https://archive.org/details/bathshebasbreast00olso/page/202 202]
|isbn=0-8018-8064-5
|oclc=186453370 }}</ref>

==Products==
[[File:Maine license plate breast cancer awareness ribbon.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Pink ribbon on a Maine license plate, with the slogan "Early detection saves lives"]]
Each October, many products are emblazoned with pink ribbons, colored pink, or otherwise sold with a promise of a small portion of the total cost being donated to support breast cancer awareness or research.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/06/Tampabay/All_may_not_be_in_the.shtml |title=Tampabay: All may not be in the pink |publisher=Sptimes.com |date=2006-10-06 |access-date=2009-06-02}}</ref>

The first breast cancer awareness stamp in the U.S., featuring a pink ribbon, was issued 1996. As it did not sell well, a [[breast cancer research stamp|new stamp]] with an emphasis on research was designed. The new stamp does not feature the pink ribbon.

Wacoal launched a bra in 1999 known as the Awareness Bra, which features a pink ribbon on each band to remind women to be conscious of their breast health.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wacoal at HerRoom|url=http://www.herroom.com/wacoal.shtml|access-date=1 August 2016|website=HerRoom.com}}</ref> In 2001, the Fit for the Cure campaign was launched to raise funds for [[breast cancer]] awareness and research. Wacoal donates to [[Susan G. Komen for the Cure|Susan G. Komen]] for every woman who participates in a complimentary fitting during Fit for the Cure.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wacoal – A Champion Partner for Susan G. Komen®|url=http://ww5.komen.org/Wacoal/|access-date=1 August 2016|website=Komen.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HerRoom.com and Wacoal Show Support for Breast Cancer Awareness|url=http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/herroomcom-and-wacoal-show-support-for-breast-cancer-awareness-911773.htm|access-date=1 August 2016|website=Marketwired.com|archive-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011024711/http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/herroomcom-and-wacoal-show-support-for-breast-cancer-awareness-911773.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mint produced a silver commemorative breast cancer coin.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mint.ca/store/template/home.jsp|title=Canadian Coins &#124; Circulation, Collecting Coins & Coin Sets &#124; The Royal Canadian Mint|website=mint.ca}}</ref> 15,000 coins were minted during 2006. On one side of the coin, a portrait of Her Majesty [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth]] is illustrated, while on the other side a pink ribbon has been enameled. Additionally, 30 million 25-cent coins were minted with pink ribbons during 2006 for normal circulation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060331/pink_coin_060331/20060331?hub=Health |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060406192118/http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060331/pink_coin_060331/20060331?hub=Health |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 April 2006 |title=Pink coin to raise breast cancer awareness |publisher=CTV.ca |date=2006-03-31 |access-date=2009-06-02}}</ref> Designed by the mint's director of engraving, Cosme Saffioti, this colored coin is the second in history to be put into regular circulation.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20060630023519/http://lifewise.canoe.ca/Style/2006/04/04/pf-1519402.html]}}</ref>

==Intellectual property status==
In most jurisdictions, the pink ribbon is considered [[public domain]]. However, in Canada, the [[Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation]] claimed ownership of the ribbon as a [[trademark]] until it was voluntarily abandoned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/srch/vwTrdmrk.do?lang=eng&status=OK&fileNumber=1223824&extension=0&startingDocumentIndexOnPage=1 |title=Canadian trade-mark data: Application Number 1223824 |publisher=Canadian Intellectual Property Office |date=2006-11-16 |access-date=2016-01-14}}</ref>

==Criticism==
The pink ribbon is frequently used in [[cause-related marketing]], a cooperation between non-profits and businesses to promote a product that also supports a cause. 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.<ref name="J Am Coll Radiol">{{cite journal|last1=Harvey|first1=Jennifer A.|first2=Michal A.|last2=Strahilevitz|year=2009|title=The Power of Pink: Cause-Related Marketing and the Impact on Breast Cancer|journal=J Am Coll Radiol|volume=6|issue=1|pages=26–32|url=http://www.marketingprof.net/files/Power_of_Pink.pdf|doi=10.1016/j.jacr.2008.07.010|pmid=19111268|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503014305/http://www.marketingprof.net/files/Power_of_Pink.pdf|archive-date=3 May 2012}}</ref>

===Pinkwashing===
{{main|Pinkwashing (breast cancer)}}

Activism against pinkwashing targets breast cancer awareness and donation campaigns that are merely performative. The origins of activism against pinkwashing have been dated to a 1985 [[Breast Cancer Action]] (BCA) campaign.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} In 2002 activism against corporate pinkwashing gained international media coverage when the BCA launched its "Think before You Pink" campaign against companies or organisations "that claim to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produce, manufacture and/or sell products that are likely to cause the disease."<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Bible and Feminism: Remapping the Field|first1=Yvonne |last1=Sherwood | first2= Anna |last2=Fisk |publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2017|isbn= 9780198722618|pages=434–435}}</ref> The "Think Before You Pink" campaign urged people to "do something besides shop."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/ |title=Think Before You Pink |publisher=Think Before You Pink |access-date=2009-06-02}}</ref> The BCA has particularly excoriated major cosmetic companies such as [[Avon Products|Avon]], [[Revlon]], and [[Estée Lauder Companies|Estée Lauder]], which have claimed to promote women's health while simultaneously using known and/or suspected cancer-causing chemicals, such as [[parabens]] and [[phthalates]] in their products.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/CosmeticCompanies.html |title=Cosmetics Companies and Breast Cancer |publisher=Thinkbeforeyoupink.org |access-date=2009-06-02 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080420152440/http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/CosmeticCompanies.html |archive-date = 20 April 2008}}</ref>

As alternative to pinkwashing the BCA runs an annual awareness campaign ''"Breast Cancer Industry Month"'' to emphasize the costs of treatment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/GetInformed/FAQPolitics.html#Q2 |title=Breast Cancer Action |publisher=Bcaction.org |access-date=2009-06-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081107052116/http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/GetInformed/FAQPolitics.html |archive-date=7 November 2008 }}</ref> The [[Susan G. Komen Foundation]], founded 1982 to end breast cancer forever, has also been criticized for pinkwashing because its corporate partnerships amount to little more than [[cause related marketing]] that encourage a culture of consumerism. In response to this criticism the Komen Foundation and the then New York Attorney General [[Eric Schneiderman]] established guidelines to help [[consumers]] understand what their donations support.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Nonprofits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict|first1=Elizabeth |last1=Boris |first2= C. Eugene|last2= Steuerle |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2016|isbn= 9781442271791|pages=266}}</ref> The use of breast cancer or the pink ribbon in cause marketing to promote products such as [[firearm]]s<ref name="SmithWesson">{{Cite web | author = Smith & Wesson  | author-link = Smith & Wesson   | title = Smith & Wesson Commences Donations To Breast Cancer Awareness Charity  | work = Press Release | date = 2009-05-26 | url = http://www.smith-wesson.com/wcsstore/SmWesson2/upload/other/MP9%20JG%20Charity%20Donation%20PR%20Final.pdf | access-date = 2012-03-07}}</ref> or [[pornography]] has also drawn controversy.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pornhub.com Donates!|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/04/pornhub-komen-donation-breast-cancer-month_n_1939648.html|work=Huffington Post|access-date=8 October 2012|first=Emma|last=Gray|date=4 October 2012}}</ref>

In her 2006 book ''Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy'' Samantha King claimed that breast cancer has been transformed from a serious disease and individual tragedy to a market-driven industry of survivorship and corporate sales pitch.<ref name=King>{{cite book |author=Samantha King |title=Pink ribbons, inc.: breast cancer and the politics of philanthropy |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |location=Minneapolis |year=2006 |isbn=0-8166-4898-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/pinkribbonsincbr0000king }}</ref> The book inspired a 2012 [[National Film Board of Canada]] documentary, ''[[Pink Ribbons, Inc.]]'', directed by [[Léa Pool]].<ref name="Forbes">{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/amywestervelt/2011/11/04/the-pinkwashing-debate-empty-criticism-or-serious-liability/|title=The Pinkwashing Debate: Empty Criticism or Serious Liability?|last=Westervelt|first=Amy|author-link=Amy Westervelt |date=11 April 2011|work=Forbes|access-date=24 November 2011}}</ref><ref name=ctvcp>{{cite news|title=NFB doc examines the politics of marketing disease|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/nfb-doc-examines-the-politics-of-marketing-disease-1.761701|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630140155/http://www.ctvnews.ca/nfb-doc-examines-the-politics-of-marketing-disease-1.761701|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 June 2012|access-date=31 January 2012|newspaper=[[CTV News]]|date=31 January 2012|agency=[[The Canadian Press]]}}</ref>
[[File:Breast_Cancer_Awareness_Month_09.jpg|150px|thumbnail|right| Pink ribbon  Philippines Philippine Cancer Society, Inc. ]]

==Other meanings==
* Pink ribbons for girls (and blue for boys) were used from the mid-19th century on christening gowns in Paris,<ref>{{cite book|title=La Mode illustrée: journal de la famille|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wb9eerF-iwQC&pg=PA122|access-date=1 February 2016|year=1868|publisher=Firmin-Didot frère, fils et cie|page=122}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=La Mode illustrée: journal de la famille|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iEhVj7-RRt0C&pg=PA385|access-date=1 February 2016|year=1869|publisher=Firmin-Didot frère, fils et cie|location=Paris|page=385}}</ref> and to a limited extent in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|title=Peterson's Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fptHAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA261|access-date=21 January 2016|year=1856|publisher=C.J. Peterson|page=261}}</ref><ref name="AldenAllen1862">{{cite book|last1=Alden|first1=Henry Mills|author-link1=Henry Mills Alden|last2=Allen|first2=Frederick Lewis|author-link2=Frederick Lewis Allen|last3=Hartman|first3=Lee Foster|title=Harper's Magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3X8CAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA720|access-date=20 January 2016|year=1862|publisher=Harper's Magazine Company|page=720}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Harper's Bazaar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALc5llqiBIwC&pg=PA874|access-date=6 February 2016|volume=20|year=1887|publisher=Hearst Corporation|location=New York|page=874}}</ref> In [[St. Petersburg]] (Russia) ribbons of the same color scheme were used on white [[Shroud|funeral shrouds]] for children.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Hawaiian Monthly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vLYx_8gCXq0C&pg=PA143|access-date=28 December 2015|year=1884|page=143}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Awareness ribbon]]
* [[List of awareness ribbons]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Pink ribbons}}
{{Awareness ribbon}}

[[Category:Breast cancer awareness]]
[[Category:Pink symbols|Ribbon, pink]]
[[Category:Awareness ribbon]]