In Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies, Mukherjee
begins this biography of cancer in a time when funding and visibility for
cancer research and patients was virtually unheard. Today, however, there are more than 260
nonprofit organizations in the US alone, more than the number for heart
disease, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, and stroke combined (Contributor). The National Cancer institute alone has spent
a total of 90 billon dollars on treatment research since its establishment (Contributor). A good portion of this funding comes from
citizen donors, giving money through events like Relay for Life or buying goods
from companies that promise to donate a portion of the profits to research
organizations. One of the most well
known and iconic cancer organizations is Susan G. Komen, often referred to as
Komen. The organization’s pink ribbon
has become synonymous with breast cancer, to the point that other groups have
begun to add a replica of the image in order to profit from its association
with health and positive change, often called “pink ribbon culture” (4
Questions). For example, In 2010, shoe company Dansko sold pink ribbon clogs,
which may have lead customers to believe that the proceeds of these shoes would
go towards breast cancer research. The shoes,
however, had no such connection with or affect on the amount of money Dansko regularly
donated to breast cancer research (4 Questions).
This correlation may cease in the
near future, however, due to many fairly recent criticisms of Komen regarding a
phenomenon known as “pinkwashing”, wherein a company uses the pink ribbon or
other such show of support towards breast cancer research, while at the same
time manufacturing products that contain ingredients linked to the disease. In 2011, Komen partnered with Sally Beauty,
which makes products known to contain chemicals like triclosan and phthalate,
both of which have been linked to breast cancer (Dovey). The organization has
also had partnerships with both KFC and Mike’s Hard Lemonade, even though the
consumption of fatty foods and alcohol have been linked to an increased risk
for breast cancer (Dovey).
So what can the average consumer do
about this? First off, do your research.
Make sure you know what portion of the funds a charity receives go
towards research as opposed to marketing, fundraising expenses, and education
programs. I personally like to use www.charitynavigator.org
as a way to investigate organizations and their effectiveness before giving
them my money. A good standard to have
is to insure that the organization is spending at least 75% of all donations on
working towards goals that they have clearly stated to their donators (GiveForward). For example, CNBC reports
that Gateway for Cancer Research promises that 99 cents for each dollar donated
goes toward actual research, and has the number to back it up (GiveForward). Be smart, be careful, but
never stop trying to make a difference.
Works Cited:
Contributor, Quora. "Where Do the Millions of Cancer
Research Dollars Go Every Year?" Slate.
N.p., 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 14 Apr.
2016.
Dovey, Dana. "How Some 'Pinkwashing' Breast Cancer
Campaigns May Be Contributing To The
Disease's Spread." Medical
Daily. IBT Media, 14 Oct. 2015. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
GiveForward.
"Breast Cancer Donations." GiveForward. N.p., n.d. Web.
14 Apr. 2016.
"4 Questions Before You Buy Pink." Think
Before You Pink. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.
I have never heard of the term "pinkwashing" but it is a very prominent issue that arises with non-profit organizations. With all of the millions and billions of dollars being donated, how much of that money is honestly being utilized in the research of the disease they are against. I also find it fascinating that the Susan G Komen found itself in such a contradictory situation. It makes me very skeptical of many of the big name foundations. Are they really doing what the claim? Who are they being supported by and are these organizations honest and loyal to their mission?
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mattina, as I hadn't heard of the term pinkwashing before reading your post. I'm really glad you brought awareness to this important and relevant topic, as I think this information needs to be shared. I had never really thought about the fact that some organizations support products that may not have the best connotations associated with their brand. This topic reminded me of the fossil free UC debate, in which some people believe we should divest funds from companies involved in fossil fuels, like Marathon and BP. There's definitely pros and cons to both sides of the issue, and the topic deserves to be discussed more.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you wrote about this topic. Whenever I hear about charities wanting me to donate my money, I want to know where the money really goes to. Is it going to be used in an effective way or not? Knowing where the donations are used could really alter my decisions to give in the future.
ReplyDeleteI am in the same boat as Rachel and Mattina. I have never heard of the term "pinkwashing." After reading your post, I am disappointed that some companies are willing to, essentially, steal money from a cancer foundation to gain profit. How much of the money many people donating actually going towards further research for this dreadful disease? If companies believe that portraying the breast cancer awareness symbol would increase their sales, why no collaborate with research foundations to actually help the cause instead of using it for their own profit? I am shocked that Susan G. Komen placed itself in such a compromising position, especially when this organization is one of many cancer foundations many people are familiar with. It feels terrible that we have to research research foundations to make sure that our donations are contributing to a cause rather than ending up in a business man's pocket.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to a comment by Jordan on a earlier post, the idea of trying to understand where all the money that people donate for charity and for cancer organizations is something that many of us wonder about. It is situations like this that paint a negative picture on donations. While we are wondering why there isn't "cure" yet even though donations are in the millions, organizations that are painting false images claiming that they are helping in the cause are in fact hurting people's ideas about donations and are pushing people to not donate at all. It is a lose-lose situation because no money is going to research, and people are becoming discouraged from donating.
ReplyDelete