Some Hollywood stars have put pink strips in their hair to support breast cancer. You can get pink drill bits for fracking and offshore oil drilling. According to The Onion, the Komen spaces ship is on its way to the outermost parts of the galaxy.
Showing posts with label pink washing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pink washing. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Overpinked
Yesterday I went off for a day of fun and shopping with a friend. On the way home, while stopped at a light, I noticed pink signs in front of the Valvoline oil change place for windshield wipers.... We didn't get the connection.
Some Hollywood stars have put pink strips in their hair to support breast cancer. You can get pink drill bits for fracking and offshore oil drilling. According to The Onion, the Komen spaces ship is on its way to the outermost parts of the galaxy.
I am so overpinked. Only 11 days to go. I'm waiting for Halloween.
Some Hollywood stars have put pink strips in their hair to support breast cancer. You can get pink drill bits for fracking and offshore oil drilling. According to The Onion, the Komen spaces ship is on its way to the outermost parts of the galaxy.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
A warning
Please brace yourself for the annual onslaught of pinkification in the month that starts on Wednesday, formerly known as October but know is Pinktober.
Pink is not the new black. We do not need a world wrapped in pink. Buildings lit up in pink do nothing. Football players dressed in pink do nothing. Regular items, including kitchen utensils, trash barrels, clothing, changed to pink do nothing. We are all aware of breast cancer.
If it makes you feel good to pay for something pink, please read the fine print. The advice to all is to do your research before donating to a cause to make sure you know how much is really going to the cause. However if you are in a store with a huge display of somethingfabulousinpink and you succumb to the pressure and decide to purchase it, please stop, breathe and read the fine print.
If it says 50% from all profits go to somepinkfund, put it back. What that means is that 50% of the manufacturer's profit is probably some tiny amount. For example, if the item costs $50, the wholesale is probably around $20-$25. The manufacturer probably sends it to a distributor who marks it up another 30%. So a quick shot at doing the math means that the manufacturer sells it for around are around $15 for the $25 wholesale item. And the manufacturing costs probably are around $13. (Note these are rough estimates but I do work in marketing and at a distributor so I am probably in the ball park to give you an idea.) So the 50% of the profits are maybe $1....
You are better off buying something you would prefer that is not pink and sending a check to your favorite charity.
Besides that pink item will probably clash with the rest of your kitchen and will get hidden away.
So skip the pink bandwagon. If we stop buying pink stuff, they will stop making it (some day....).
Pink is not the new black. We do not need a world wrapped in pink. Buildings lit up in pink do nothing. Football players dressed in pink do nothing. Regular items, including kitchen utensils, trash barrels, clothing, changed to pink do nothing. We are all aware of breast cancer.
If it makes you feel good to pay for something pink, please read the fine print. The advice to all is to do your research before donating to a cause to make sure you know how much is really going to the cause. However if you are in a store with a huge display of somethingfabulousinpink and you succumb to the pressure and decide to purchase it, please stop, breathe and read the fine print.
If it says 50% from all profits go to somepinkfund, put it back. What that means is that 50% of the manufacturer's profit is probably some tiny amount. For example, if the item costs $50, the wholesale is probably around $20-$25. The manufacturer probably sends it to a distributor who marks it up another 30%. So a quick shot at doing the math means that the manufacturer sells it for around are around $15 for the $25 wholesale item. And the manufacturing costs probably are around $13. (Note these are rough estimates but I do work in marketing and at a distributor so I am probably in the ball park to give you an idea.) So the 50% of the profits are maybe $1....
You are better off buying something you would prefer that is not pink and sending a check to your favorite charity.
Besides that pink item will probably clash with the rest of your kitchen and will get hidden away.
So skip the pink bandwagon. If we stop buying pink stuff, they will stop making it (some day....).
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Happy Halloween!
Today is Halloween. There should be no more Pinktober. There should be lots of kids around here dressed up in Red Sox uniforms with fake beards. There should be no more Pinktober. There should be candy bowls everywhere making dentists cringe. There should be no more Pinktober.
I am wearing an orange shirt and black pants and sweater to work to add to the mood. If I can find my hat from Cirque du Soleil, I'll bring that a long as well. There is no Pinktober.
I'm just happy all the Pinktober crap is over. Let's see if we can minimize it for next year.
I am wearing an orange shirt and black pants and sweater to work to add to the mood. If I can find my hat from Cirque du Soleil, I'll bring that a long as well. There is no Pinktober.
I'm just happy all the Pinktober crap is over. Let's see if we can minimize it for next year.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Overpinked
Yesterday I went off for a day of fun and shopping with a friend. On the way home, while stopped at a light, I noticed pink signs in front of the Valvoline oil change place for windshield wipers.... We didn't get the connection.
Some Hollywood stars have put pink strips in their hair to support breast cancer. You can get pink drill bits for fracking and offshore oil drilling. According to The Onion, the Komen spaces ship is on its way to the outermost parts of the galaxy.
I am so overpinked. Only 11 days to go. I'm waiting for Halloween.
Some Hollywood stars have put pink strips in their hair to support breast cancer. You can get pink drill bits for fracking and offshore oil drilling. According to The Onion, the Komen spaces ship is on its way to the outermost parts of the galaxy.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
A warning
Please brace yourself for the annual onslaught of pinkification in the month that starts on Wednesday, formerly known as October but know is Pinktober.
Pink is not the new black. We do not need a world wrapped in pink. Buildings lit up in pink do nothing. Football players dressed in pink do nothing. Regular items, including kitchen utensils, trash barrels, clothing, changed to pink do nothing. We are all aware of breast cancer.
If it makes you feel good to pay for something pink, please read the fine print. The advice to all is to do your research before donating to a cause to make sure you know how much is really going to the cause. However if you are in a store with a huge display of somethingfabulousinpink and you succumb to the pressure and decide to purchase it, please stop, breathe and read the fine print.
If it says 50% from all profits go to somepinkfund, put it back. What that means is that 50% of the manufacturer's profit is probably some tiny amount. For example, if the item costs $50, the wholesale is probably around $20-$25. The manufacturer probably sends it to a distributor who marks it up another 30%. So a quick shot at doing the math means that the manufacturer sells it for around are around $15 for the $25 wholesale item. And the manufacturing costs probably are around $13. (Note these are rough estimates but I do work in marketing and at a distributor so I am probably in the ball park to give you an idea.) So the 50% of the profits are maybe $1....
You are better off buying something you would prefer that is not pink and sending a check to your favorite charity.
Besides that pink item will probably clash with the rest of your kitchen and will get hidden away.
So skip the pink bandwagon. If we stop buying pink stuff, they will stop making it (some day....).
Pink is not the new black. We do not need a world wrapped in pink. Buildings lit up in pink do nothing. Football players dressed in pink do nothing. Regular items, including kitchen utensils, trash barrels, clothing, changed to pink do nothing. We are all aware of breast cancer.
If it makes you feel good to pay for something pink, please read the fine print. The advice to all is to do your research before donating to a cause to make sure you know how much is really going to the cause. However if you are in a store with a huge display of somethingfabulousinpink and you succumb to the pressure and decide to purchase it, please stop, breathe and read the fine print.
If it says 50% from all profits go to somepinkfund, put it back. What that means is that 50% of the manufacturer's profit is probably some tiny amount. For example, if the item costs $50, the wholesale is probably around $20-$25. The manufacturer probably sends it to a distributor who marks it up another 30%. So a quick shot at doing the math means that the manufacturer sells it for around are around $15 for the $25 wholesale item. And the manufacturing costs probably are around $13. (Note these are rough estimates but I do work in marketing and at a distributor so I am probably in the ball park to give you an idea.) So the 50% of the profits are maybe $1....
You are better off buying something you would prefer that is not pink and sending a check to your favorite charity.
Besides that pink item will probably clash with the rest of your kitchen and will get hidden away.
So skip the pink bandwagon. If we stop buying pink stuff, they will stop making it (some day....).
Bracing for pinkness
Today is September 30. Back at the beginning of September, I asked all of you to take a pledge against pinkification and focus on real needs. Here is the pledge again:
I (state your name [and not the Animal House version]) promise that during the month of Pinktober, formerly known as October, I will not arbitrarily purchase pink items or donate to pink causes with out first researching how much actually goes to breast cancer research or screening services.
I will first research them using services such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to ensure they are legitimate.
I also promise that I will not support pinkification efforts to paint things pink, light up buildings in pink, or other such activities.
Thank you.
Its been a month. Have you researched other causes? Have you rejected any pinkification efforts already?
I have been asked to be in a newspaper article (which they actually print on pink paper during the month of October) and declined. I have already been approached for donations because its breast cancer awareness season. October will be a blur of pink, with the internet and phones and mail full of requests to help with pinkification efforts. The media will also be full of rehashed breast cancer research from the past few years. This does nothing. It does not help.
We do not need awareness. We need research. And a cure would be really nice. I just learned this morning that another 36 year old woman, Jen Smith of LivingLegendary.org, died of metastatic breast cancer yesterday - that was too young.
We can skip the awareness. There are better things in October - Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween. (Haven't you seen the little candy bars everywhere?). Its also Liver Cancer awareness - which is a green ribbon. You can skip wearing pink for breast cancer awareness and wear green for liver cancer.
November brings us Lung Cancer awareness and the Great American Smoke Out as well as Pancreatic Cancer and Stomach Cancer months. It also has Veterans Day - and we have many veterans to thank and remember - as well as Thanksgiving.
So please take the pledge and donate to cancer research and not pinkification. Thank you.
I (state your name [and not the Animal House version]) promise that during the month of Pinktober, formerly known as October, I will not arbitrarily purchase pink items or donate to pink causes with out first researching how much actually goes to breast cancer research or screening services.
I will first research them using services such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to ensure they are legitimate.
I also promise that I will not support pinkification efforts to paint things pink, light up buildings in pink, or other such activities.
Thank you.
Its been a month. Have you researched other causes? Have you rejected any pinkification efforts already?
I have been asked to be in a newspaper article (which they actually print on pink paper during the month of October) and declined. I have already been approached for donations because its breast cancer awareness season. October will be a blur of pink, with the internet and phones and mail full of requests to help with pinkification efforts. The media will also be full of rehashed breast cancer research from the past few years. This does nothing. It does not help.
We do not need awareness. We need research. And a cure would be really nice. I just learned this morning that another 36 year old woman, Jen Smith of LivingLegendary.org, died of metastatic breast cancer yesterday - that was too young.
We can skip the awareness. There are better things in October - Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween. (Haven't you seen the little candy bars everywhere?). Its also Liver Cancer awareness - which is a green ribbon. You can skip wearing pink for breast cancer awareness and wear green for liver cancer.
November brings us Lung Cancer awareness and the Great American Smoke Out as well as Pancreatic Cancer and Stomach Cancer months. It also has Veterans Day - and we have many veterans to thank and remember - as well as Thanksgiving.
So please take the pledge and donate to cancer research and not pinkification. Thank you.
Friday, January 9, 2015
The numbers behind pinkification..
The NFL has decided to cut back on their pinkification... They will stop using pink penalty flags in week 6 - I have no idea when week 6 is but assume it is sometime around now. That is how much I know about football. But do not be too upset as they will still use pink cleats, wristbands, gloves, sideline hats, helmet decals, captains' patches, chin cups, shoe laces, skull caps, sideline towels, eye shield decals and quarterback towels.
The reason given for the stop is that pink penalty flags can easily be confused by players with the other flashes of pink. Out of the corner of your eye, was that a pink penalty flag dropped or another player running by or a dropped quarterback towel? I guess it can be confusing to players but then I find the whole game confusing.
Pink penalty flags are a small portion of the NFL's efforts.
The big picture effort is called a Crucial Catch and is a partnership between the American Cancer Society and the NFL and supported by corporate sponsors. This has been going on since 2009. It is not very altruistic of the NFL as they are trying to recruit more female fans, particularly younger ones.
But here are the real details behind this all. How much do you think the NFL must have donated in the past four years? Guess a number and read below:
"This is where the campaign gets murky. While all proceeds from auctioned game-worn items go to breast cancer causes, the league declines to say what portion of the apparel sales do. Inquiring minds can estimate, however. Ticketmaster limited its 2012 A Crucial Catch contribution to 10 cents for every ticket sold last October (up to $40,000 total), and The New York Times reported that Old Navy donated only five percent of revenues to a foundation via a similar 2011 campaign featuring the Dallas Cowboys. Charlotte Jones Anderson, the daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, supervised this campaign, and Anderson in December was appointed chairwoman of a new NFL foundation that will direct league community efforts.
The bottom line: The league hardly donates much to "fight" breast cancer. You'd need to use scientific notation with negative exponents to express what percentage of the NFL's annual revenues it contributes via A Crucial Catch. The campaign raised a combined $4.5 million during its first four years (2009-2012), including $1.5 million last year. League-wide revenues approached $8 billion in 2009, when NFL teams earned a median profit of $28.6 million, according to The Economics of the National Football League, a 2012 book edited by Kevin G. Quinn. (The NFL says it plans to donate $23 million to all community causes this year -- less than one percent of its likely revenues.)
If they are not really concerned with aiding breast cancer causes, then, why do the NFL and its corporate partners orchestrate this campaign? The cynical answer is that they are more interested in their images, and in growing their products and revenues. They are seeking to attract new consumers, usually female, and to establish a positive connection with them."
A whopping $4.5 million dollars from four years of effort out of $8 billion in revenues in a single year? Thats a teeny tiny percent.
I am not blasting the NFL here but using them as an example of how the numbers of pinkification never add up. If you really care, send your dollars to a worthy cause that you have checked out first.
The number is: 0.01406% each year. Basically a drop in the bucket.
The reason given for the stop is that pink penalty flags can easily be confused by players with the other flashes of pink. Out of the corner of your eye, was that a pink penalty flag dropped or another player running by or a dropped quarterback towel? I guess it can be confusing to players but then I find the whole game confusing.
Pink penalty flags are a small portion of the NFL's efforts.
But here are the real details behind this all. How much do you think the NFL must have donated in the past four years? Guess a number and read below:
"This is where the campaign gets murky. While all proceeds from auctioned game-worn items go to breast cancer causes, the league declines to say what portion of the apparel sales do. Inquiring minds can estimate, however. Ticketmaster limited its 2012 A Crucial Catch contribution to 10 cents for every ticket sold last October (up to $40,000 total), and The New York Times reported that Old Navy donated only five percent of revenues to a foundation via a similar 2011 campaign featuring the Dallas Cowboys. Charlotte Jones Anderson, the daughter of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, supervised this campaign, and Anderson in December was appointed chairwoman of a new NFL foundation that will direct league community efforts.
The bottom line: The league hardly donates much to "fight" breast cancer. You'd need to use scientific notation with negative exponents to express what percentage of the NFL's annual revenues it contributes via A Crucial Catch. The campaign raised a combined $4.5 million during its first four years (2009-2012), including $1.5 million last year. League-wide revenues approached $8 billion in 2009, when NFL teams earned a median profit of $28.6 million, according to The Economics of the National Football League, a 2012 book edited by Kevin G. Quinn. (The NFL says it plans to donate $23 million to all community causes this year -- less than one percent of its likely revenues.)
If they are not really concerned with aiding breast cancer causes, then, why do the NFL and its corporate partners orchestrate this campaign? The cynical answer is that they are more interested in their images, and in growing their products and revenues. They are seeking to attract new consumers, usually female, and to establish a positive connection with them."
A whopping $4.5 million dollars from four years of effort out of $8 billion in revenues in a single year? Thats a teeny tiny percent.
I am not blasting the NFL here but using them as an example of how the numbers of pinkification never add up. If you really care, send your dollars to a worthy cause that you have checked out first.
The number is: 0.01406% each year. Basically a drop in the bucket.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
I am annoyed about pink already
On day 4 of Pinktober, the month formerly known as October, and I am already annoyed by pinkification. Boston's Museum of Fine Arts was lit up pink last night. The NFL has already made an announcement on their support of pinkification. I get way too many emails and FB posts about pink things.
Damn. I'll go live under a rock for the rest of this month. It is so annoying!
Damn. I'll go live under a rock for the rest of this month. It is so annoying!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
An annual pledge against pinkification
As we approach the month of Pinktober (with 30 days advance notice), it is time for all of us to raise our hands and pledge the following. Please join in.
Raise your right hand and repeat after me:
I (state your name [and not the Animal House version]) promise that during the month of Pinktober, formerly known as October, I will not arbitrarily purchase pink items or donate to pink causes with out first researching how much actually goes to breast cancer research or screening services.
I will first research them using services such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to ensure they are legitimate.
I also promise that I will not support pinkification efforts to paint things pink, light up buildings in pink, or other such activities.
Thank you.
We need to focus our efforts on research and screening services for under served populations. We do not need any more awareness. The American public is plenty aware of breast cancer at this point.
Between now and then September is Prostate Cancer, Childhood Cancer, Thyroid Cancer, Leukemia and Lymphoma, and Ovarian Cancer month. It also contains the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Those all seem to be overshadowed by the looming Pinkification of October.
In October, there are other lovely holidays to support. Halloween for one - the one where we dress in costume and eat lots of candy, never mind Columbus Day and a host of other minor celebrations.
November includes many events including Veterans Day and Thanksgiving but it in recent years the squabbling that has resulted from Pinktober overwhelms everything until Thanksgiving. It also includes the great American Smokeout, Lung Cancer Awarness and Pancreatic Cancer awareness month.
What I am trying to say is stop supporting on pinkification and focus on research and screening for underserved populations.
Raise your right hand and repeat after me:
I (state your name [and not the Animal House version]) promise that during the month of Pinktober, formerly known as October, I will not arbitrarily purchase pink items or donate to pink causes with out first researching how much actually goes to breast cancer research or screening services.
I will first research them using services such as Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org) to ensure they are legitimate.
I also promise that I will not support pinkification efforts to paint things pink, light up buildings in pink, or other such activities.
Thank you.
We need to focus our efforts on research and screening services for under served populations. We do not need any more awareness. The American public is plenty aware of breast cancer at this point.
Between now and then September is Prostate Cancer, Childhood Cancer, Thyroid Cancer, Leukemia and Lymphoma, and Ovarian Cancer month. It also contains the Jewish holy days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Those all seem to be overshadowed by the looming Pinkification of October.
In October, there are other lovely holidays to support. Halloween for one - the one where we dress in costume and eat lots of candy, never mind Columbus Day and a host of other minor celebrations.
November includes many events including Veterans Day and Thanksgiving but it in recent years the squabbling that has resulted from Pinktober overwhelms everything until Thanksgiving. It also includes the great American Smokeout, Lung Cancer Awarness and Pancreatic Cancer awareness month.
What I am trying to say is stop supporting on pinkification and focus on research and screening for underserved populations.
Accountability
Accountability means the state of being accountable, liable, answerable. Accountable means being able to explain. That is what I am asking for.
The people who brought us pinkness, a/k/a Komen for the Cure, claim they are out for the cure of breast cancer. They spend 18% of what they take in on research. That's it. The rest is on pinkness.
Twenty two years ago they started handing out pink ribbons to help find the cure for breast cancer. In that time they have painted the world pink, and introduced us to pinkwashing and pinkification. There is no cure, treatments are still horrible. Mortality rates are unchanged. And they have sued other organizations for using the words 'for the cure'.
A little accountability is needed here to explain what they are really doing. They are not for the cure. They are selling pink.
On this October 1, as the landscape slowly turns pink, make an accountable decision with your donations. Do not paint the world pink, make sure your money is going to something other than just pink paint.
The people who brought us pinkness, a/k/a Komen for the Cure, claim they are out for the cure of breast cancer. They spend 18% of what they take in on research. That's it. The rest is on pinkness.
Twenty two years ago they started handing out pink ribbons to help find the cure for breast cancer. In that time they have painted the world pink, and introduced us to pinkwashing and pinkification. There is no cure, treatments are still horrible. Mortality rates are unchanged. And they have sued other organizations for using the words 'for the cure'.
A little accountability is needed here to explain what they are really doing. They are not for the cure. They are selling pink.
On this October 1, as the landscape slowly turns pink, make an accountable decision with your donations. Do not paint the world pink, make sure your money is going to something other than just pink paint.
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