It’s October. There’s a chill in the air. Leaves are turning colour. And pink ribbons are popping up in your local supermarket, drug store and even hardware store. That’s right. It’s Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Welcome to week 37 of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a sustainable living tip for the week. This week, I share my thoughts on the pink ribbon movement. Plus, a look at France’s clothing repair program, the connection between sitting and dementia, the right temperature for your fridge, and cutting back on cosmetic packaging.

The Sunday Spark – Week 37

On my mind this week: Pink ribbons everywhere!

As we head into another October, I’m bracing myself for an onslaught of pink ribbons. Having fought a personal battle with breast cancer, I have mixed feelings about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or “Pinktober” as I like to call it. I’m skeptical about the sincerity of the pink ribbon campaigns that are unavoidable this time of year.

Before I continue, let me acknowledge the positive side of the pink ribbon as a symbol of support for those affected by breast cancer. For many, it’s a tangible symbol of hope as they deal with the emotion and turmoil of a cancer diagnosis. That’s an important point that we shouldn’t underestimate.

But it’s all a bit much…

My issue with pink ribbons

People often ask why I have such strong feelings about October. Having been personally affected by cancer, why wouldn’t I support a month dedicated to awareness about a disease that is one of the biggest killers of women around the world? 

My concerns about Breast Cancer Awareness Month fall into three areas.

I don’t need a reminder

My first issue with the pink ribbons is personal. It has been 12 years since my diagnosis, but I still think about breast cancer every single day and probably will do so for the rest of my life. That is the legacy of a cancer diagnosis. I don’t want to be reminded about breast cancer in every aisle as I do my grocery shopping.

Awareness isn’t the issue

Beyond my personal feelings, I don’t think awareness is the issue.

It’s pretty hard to find anyone who doesn’t have a friend or family member who has been affected by breast cancer. Does adding pretty pink ribbons on everything from tea to toilet paper really increase awareness? Wouldn’t we be better off focusing those efforts on programs to provide targeted education and support for screening to people who need it?

Pink ribbons have turned into a marketing tactic

Finally, we have seen this symbol of hope turned into a marketing tactic for large corporations. I’ve written about greenwashing but pinkwashing is also a thing. Think Before You Pink defines a pinkwasher as “a company that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product but, at the same time, produces, manufactures or sells products that are linked to the disease”.

You don’t have to look too hard to find pink ribbons on personal care products with ingredients that are suspected to cause cancer. In the past, pink ribbons have made appearances on everything from guns to unhealthy fast food.

Most corporate partners have good intentions. But don’t take the pink ribbon at face value. Do your research. Here are some questions to ask when you see a pink ribbon product:

• What exactly is the company doing to support the cause?
• Are they donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this pink ribbon product? If so, how much?
• Which organization are they donating to? What will that organization do with the money raised?
• Does this product contain possible cancer causing ingredients?
• What is the company doing to ensure its products don’t contribute to the risk of breast cancer?

If you’re not happy with the answer to these questions, save your money and consider making a donation directly to a cancer charity instead.

We need to move beyond awareness

Awareness is great if it leads to early detection or prevention. But is the message getting to the people who need to hear it?

Awareness doesn’t help someone who doesn’t have access to screening. Awareness doesn’t help someone dealing with the aftermath of a diagnosis. And awareness doesn’t cure cancer. In my opinion, the cancer community would be better served by putting money into support services and research. The lives of the women we love depend on it.

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Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:

• On the weekend, I took part in a microforest planting project. It was wonderful to see a community come together to do something good for the environment, and to memorialize their deceased loved ones in a positive and permanent way. Read more about the experience in this post.
• My team won the scavenger hunt at work. We celebrated the event with a potluck lunch at the office on Tuesday.
• I ticked another item off my 60 before 60 list this week when my daughter Colleen and I learned how to play Gin Rummy. I seem to have better luck at this game than some of the others we play.

Three things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:

France introduces new clothing repair program

Would a tax credit encourage you to repair your clothing instead of buying new? The French government hopes so. A new program will give a credit to people who bring their clothing or shoes to a tailor or cobbler to be repaired. This follows a similar program introduced last year giving credits to people who repair their household appliances.

(Source: Happy Eco News)

Link between sitting and dementia

We’ve been hearing for years that sitting is the new smoking but sitting for long periods of time can also increase your risk of dementia. A new study by the University of Southern California and University of Arizona showed people over age 65 who are sedentary for 12 hours a day were 63% more likely to develop dementia within a seven-year period. And those who were sedentary for 15 hours a day were 220% more likely to develop dementia during that same time period.  

If that isn’t enough motivation to get up off the couch and get moving, I don’t know what is!

(Source: MarketWatch)

Ideal refrigerator temperature

On Tuesday morning, my husband said, “This milk isn’t very cold.” Un oh. Was it time to replace our 20-year-old fridge? A quick search revealed the ideal fridge temperature is at or below 4 C (40 F). (Source: FDA)

Our fridge thermometer was reading 50 F, so off to the appliance store we went. Luckily, RONA had stock of the fridge we wanted, and we were able to get a new one delivered on Thursday. Much as I hate unplanned purchases, a fridge is a necessity. The first one we bought when we got married only lasted a little over 10 years so I’m grateful we got close to 20 years out of this one. How long will our new one last? Read my thoughts on that in Disposable world – Why aren’t things made to last?

As an aside, when and why did white appliances go out of style?

Sustainable living tip: Cosmetic packaging

The cosmetic industry creates a lot of waste so I’m always on the lookout for companies with sustainable packaging.

My tip for the week is to scrutinize all your cosmetic packaging and look for low waste or recyclable alternatives. This week, I received an order from one of my favourite Canadian companies, Pure Anada. They sell refillable compacts for blush, face powder, eyeshadow, and mineral foundation. You can read about them in this post.

If you know of any other companies with a similar philosophy, drop me a comment below and let me know.  

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I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.