Pink Consumerism
October is breast cancer awareness month, which over the past few years has turned into pink consumerism month.
OK, I confess I love the influx of pink products. But especially now, at a time when there is so much focus on the failing economy, I can’t help but be disturbed by the promotion of consumerist culture in the name of a good cause. Is buying products we don’t need from massive corporations really the best way to fight breast cancer? Or are we actually participating in and contributing to a capitalist culture that values the wealth of the few over the health of the many?
Is shopping being allowed to stand in for more substantive, radical political action?
Think Before You Pink, a project of Breast Cancer Action, is a useful resource for looking into some of the pink products out there. The site catalogs, and in some cases hosts campaigns about, products that may increase the risk of breast cancer, that are harmful to the environment, and that contribute relatively small amounts of profits to breast cancer research. There is no broader critique of pink consumerism offered on the site, but it’s useful if you’re like me, someone who loves the pink but still wants to bring at least some of my social justice analysis into my shopping.