Fashion is used to support breast cancer.
The purpose of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October is to help support and fund research for a life-threatening disease that affects people every year.
One of the most popular forms of spreading awareness is through fashion. Notable organizations, such as The National Football League, Avon, the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and other private organizations have made the pink ribbon a part of their fashion statement.
The color pink being associated with breast cancer awareness was first seen during the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s “Race for the Cure.”
The foundation has been handing out bright pink flyers to breast cancer survivors since the late 1990s. In the fall of the following year, the foundation gave out pink ribbons to every participant in its New York City race, according to thinkbeforeyoupink.org.
Since then, the pink ribbon is used to raise awareness of breast cancer all over the world.
In 2009, the NFL began its campaign “A Crucial Catch” in partnership with the American Cancer Society.
Its main purpose is to spread awareness of “the importance of annual screenings, especially for women who are 40 and older.”
During the month of October, NFL players, coaches and referees wear pink apparel to raise awareness for the cause. All of the apparel worn is available to purchase at an NFL auction.
Fans can bid for pink merchandise that has been worn and signed by the players. The auction includes jerseys, cleats, helmets, gloves, footballs and more.
Since the start of this campaign, the NFL has raised $4.5 million, with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to the American Cancer Society.
With pink being largely stereotyped to be a feminine color, computer science major Semajay Solomon disagreed and found the color to be a non-factor when it comes to the purpose.
“It’s not like (you’re) just putting on pink just because you think it looks cute, (you’re) doing it for a specific reason, so I think the color is kind of irrelevant.”
The Internet has also helped spread breast cancer awareness through fashion. The site cafepress.com helps private organizations design and sell their merchandise to fund their cause.
The Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign uses this site to sell its own merchandise, from funny T-shirts that say “fighting cancer and still fabulous,” to mugs that say “keep the lumps out of your cups.”
Ten percent of all proceeds go toward the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and can be found at cafepress.com/bca2014.
The Loma Linda University Health Department of Plastic Surgery uses a more direct approach to help the campaign for breast cancer; by hosting an annual Breast Cancer Reconstruction Pink Runway event at the Riverside Convention Center.
The purpose of this event is not only to raise awareness of breast cancer, but also awareness of reconstruction surgery options for cancer survivors.
This event includes educational seminars about reconstructive surgery and also hosts a fashion show that features the breast cancer survivors and reconstruction patients as the models.
Luis Montealegre, economics major, said, “This is beneficial in two ways – it helps raise awareness for the cause while also providing the patients with confidence to go out there and feel sexy and comfortable in their own skin.”
