October is breast cancer awareness month

Working in the promotional products industry we know the trends and the times where particular products are requested. At this time of the year we are flooded with requests about the Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I figured it would be nice to know a bit more about its origins and meaning. So I "wikipedied" the question to break it down to you, fellow "promotional products junkies" :)

Since when?

AstraZeneca, which manufactures breast cancer drugs Arimidex and Tamoxifen, founded the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the year 1985. The aim of the NBCAM from the start has been to promote mammography as the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer.^[1]

Where does the Pink Ribbon come from?

Ribbons have been used to express solidarity on the part of the wearer with the identified cause since the early to late 20th Century. Pink Ribbons (and the color pink) are used to express support for women (and men) who are diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Charlotte Hayley, who battled breast cancer, produced peach color ribbons. She sold them with a card saying, "The National Cancer Institute annual budget is 1.8 billion US Dollars, and only 5 percent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon".^[3] Her message spread fast. This made Penny and Evelyn Lauder interested in Hayley's concept. They offered to adapt Hayley's idea by working with her. But Hayley rejected the offer, saying that they were too commercial.

After discussing opportunities with Lauder, Hayley and their lawyers, they came up with a "new" color. The new color of the ribbon was pink and became an international symbol for breast cancer awareness.

Pretty much any product you can think of now comes in its pink version to help companies raise money and awareness towards this illness. See here some of the ideas available, it goes much further now that only sending pink ribbons or pink pens.