Why I Won't Be Spotlighting BCA Beauty Products - A Girl's Gotta Spa!

Why I Won't Be Spotlighting BCA Beauty Products

For months now I have been receiving pitches from beauty brands and PR firms far and wide about which beauty products will be donating some or all of their proceeds to breast cancer charities. Most beauty magazines and beauty blogs have already started posting about them.

This year I thought to myself...if I want to support a breast cancer charity and research, why do I have to buy lipstick to do so?

Many of you may be familiar with the term "pink washing" which means that brands are using this disease to promote their own products. Some brands give 10% of their profits, some give 100%, but the bottom line is the publicity and brand awareness of their own products...which means an exploitation of a disease that is killing so many womeny.

I live in the Pocono Mountains. This area is known to be a cancer cluster. I cannot even tell you how many people I have known who have died from cancer since I moved here. So many people in my own family have battled cancer of one kind or another.

This may lead you to ask why I won't spotlight beauty products with the pink ribbon if it means money going to charity. The real, true answer? Because I think you should just donate 100% of your money to the charity directly.

Sure, if you are already in the market for a new shower gel or lipstick, go ahead and buy one that will be donating to the cause, but if you really and truly want to make a difference, then pop online and make a direct donation to the cancer charity of your choice who have an A rating.

Then there are no worries about how much of your money is going to help a woman battling this disease because A rated charites have lower administrative costs with more of the donation going towards research and supporting local chapters.

And you know what? Cancer hits any time of year. Any day, any hour, any person, regardless of religion, creed, gender, age or social class. So please don't only donate to one cancer-specific charity in October. Donate any time of the year and to whichever cancer charity has your heart.

That is all. Sorry for the rant, but I felt it needed to be said. 

beauty

16 comments

Henna
Henna
Hey Shannon, You raised a lot of good points! I totally agree with you – if you really want to help, it’s probably a better idea to just donate directly. Unfortunately, most people don’t think of doing that, and so treating themselves to La Mer is the next best thing, I guess.
Kimberly Kolodziejski
Kimberly Kolodziejski
Hi Shannon: I truly respect your opinion, but have another to offer from the other side of the counter. Chella had been asked to offer products for this Month and we offered products to reviewers as well. We believed that the opportunity to support this event was very important as this event has created such an awareness of Breast Cancer over the few years of its existance. Understanding we are a very small company, our contribution will not add much to the BCA bottom line. In addition, we do not we expect to generate any increase in revenue and, while it is difficult to mesure, we aren’t participating in order to increase our brand awareness. We have donated over $1000 in product (remember, we are not Estee Lauder) and will be donating 50% of any purchases that are made, but the real interest for Chella was supporting this cause and supporting our Blogging Beauties in their BCA endeavors. I agree that BCA should be an ongoing crusade, but I also feel that every little thing that is done to encourage BCA is a positive step forward. Any reason to have the Breast Cancer conversation initiated ~a conversation which is a difficult one at best, should be embraced by as many people as possible. Thanks for the platform to comment!
nandoism
nandoism
Great post and ideology behind it—rock on!
Nicole Chase
Nicole Chase
Shannon, This is a great post. You make some good points especially the fact that cancer can strike at any given time, not just October. Also, people shouldn’t feel that the only way that they can support the cause is by buying products that are donating a certain amt to the cause. Lastly, exploitation of the disease is something that I never took into consideration until you explained it here. Thanks for ranting or better yet exposing your audience to a different way of looking at the cause.
Fresco Phyrra
Fresco Phyrra
As long as awareness is raised, and that people learn that it can affect not only women but men, I’m happy. I’m doing a BCA product on my blog for the first time this year. However, I know that many people don’t seem to realize how breast cancer can affect anyone. My grandmother had to have a masectomy and is a breast cancer survivor. My boyfriend had to have a bilateral masectomy done last year as he had breast lumps, and since his grandfather was a breast cancer survivor and he lost his mother to breast cancer, it was critical for him to have the surgery. I also had a scare with breast cancer 8 years ago, and was lucky that it turned out to be benign, but I still carry the scar.
Alyson@GlossMenagerie
Alyson@GlossMenagerie
Shannon I completely agree. I have gotten BCA product pitches too, but I’m not interested in featuring them either.

Add a comment

* Comments must be approved before being displayed.