Where did the pink ribbon come from?
In the early 1990s, an American grandmother, Charlotte Haley, began making peach ribbons by hand in her home. Her daughter, sister and grandmother all had breast cancer. She personally distributed thousands of ribbons with cards that read: “The National Cancer Institute annual budget is $1.8 billion. Only 5 percent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon.” Executives from the cosmetic giant, Estée Lauder, and Self magazine asked Haley for permission to use her ribbon. Haley refused, saying that her ribbon was not to be commercialized. So the decision was made to go with another colour and pink was chosen. Charlotte Haley’s peach ribbon was eclipsed by the PR machine of the pink ribbon which has now become a recognized symbol for breast cancer. The pink ribbon has proliferated. Attaching it to a product enhances the image of the manufacturer, retailer or sponsor. They make money mostly for themselves and express very little interest
