The “think pink” theme definitely moves a lot of product. In fact, I’ll gladly sell you this forklift for $100,000 and donate 50% of my profit to charity.

I’m always happy to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, partly because, well… as a man I like breasts. But more importantly because of the fact that most of my closest friends are women, and as someone who does work with fashion and beauty (I do work with Dior), I’m acutely aware of how breast cancer is likely to cause a woman much more personal anguish and worry than other serious illnesses, simply because of how our culture places so much emphasis on a woman’s physical appearance, especially her breasts. Which is why I sometimes also ponder whether it’s time we rethink the pink approach. The “awareness month” campaign was founded in 1985 by AstraZeneca, which manufactures breast cancer drugs Arimidex and Tamoxifen. It got some extra oomph in 1993 when Estée Lauder founded The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and established the Pink Ribbon as its symbol. So for over two decades, it has been a powerful tool for keeping breast cancer on the map as a health concern, but to what end? It has been pointed out that the campaign was originally “conceived and paid for by a British chemical company that both profits from this epidemic and may be contributing to its cause“. And if you do a little poking around, you’ll find a lot of articles like this LA Times piece that points out that in spite of all the PR, fundraising, and research, deaths from breast cancer have only declined by about 2% per year since 1990, and the emphasis remains on early detection, not a cure. The major campaigns are still backed by AstraZeneca, which clearly profits much more from this strategy than finding a cure. Draw your own conclusion. Another obvious backfire effect is the fact that so many companies jump on the bandwagon more as a marketing strategy than as genuine fund-raising, siphoning dollars into potentially ineffectual channels. This Daily Finance article gets specific, but you only have to do a quick web search to find all sorts of opportunistic campaigns like the Minneapolis bar Bootleggers’ Twin Titties Series, or the Save The Tatas campaign that centers on products like “Boob Lube, The Original Breast Check Soap” and cheesy soft-porn-themed videos like this (also below) to promote them. And Estée Lauder is trying to “get social” this year with a campaign centered on bloggers posing for fashion photographer John Midgley. They have a Facebook page, but probably don’t realize that this idea has been around with a more user-centric approach for almost ten years with sites like the annual Blogger BoobieThon. So, there are plenty of ways to keep abreast of things, like wearing your I Love Boobies Bracelets . Just don’t wear them to school. More products and campaigns below.

We make no guarantee that these products aren’t guilty of pinkwashing. But we do guarantee that the revenue we would receive if you buy them is measly enough that we won’t be donating our share.

Pepper Spray with Pink Key Case	I guess the idea here is that while you fight breast cancer, you can fight off attackers as well.
Breast Cancer Awareness Vibrator	I have a hunch using this will make you aware of something other than breast cancer.
Breast Cancer Awareness Drill	I’m not sure how well this really relates to the breast cancer theme. But it would be handy for fixing your Barbie Dream House. Or maybe you could somehow put it to use with the item above.
I Love Boobies Bracelets	And who in their right mind doesn’t love boobies? A we pointed out above though, just don’t wear them to school

Boob Lube, The Original Breast Check Soap

On October 10, more than 50 of King Features’ cartoonists will observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the Sunday comics section of newspapers across the country with Cartoonists Care: The Sunday Funnies Pink Project

And apparently Tennessee firemen aren’t afraid to dive into some pink: