October is breast cancer awareness month. I didn't receive as many notifications about Pilates products and events benefiting breast cancer research and awareness as I have in past years -- and even then I thought there should be more. Nevertheless, there are, thankfully, a few Pilates related businesses that have made an effort and I want to let you know about those.
I'm sorry to be a little far into the month with this information. I was hoping I'd find more from the Pilates industry. I do think, however, that there are many studios and teachers doing good work for breast cancer awareness on their own in their communities and that is wonderful.
Here are some of the larger companies that are donating to breast cancer awareness/research:
- Balanced Body has a hot pink foam roller with a the breast cancer awareness ribbon emblem on the end. It sells for $17.00 but they are donating $5.00 of every sale to breast cancer research.
Learn about foam rollers - Gaiam is selling a pink ribbon nonslip yoga mat. It sells for $21.00 and they are donating $1.00 of every sale to The Breast Cancer Foundation.
Before You Buy a Pilates Mat - ToeSox is donating and unspecified amount from the sales of their pink Ultra Sport ToeSox crew ($11.20) and ankle ($10.50) to breast cancer charities.
My ToeSox Review - Pilates for Pink is a program promoted by Shape Magazine that raises money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) by helping studios host classes that will raise funds for BCRF and providing an online directory of studios around the country that are offering those classes.
Meanwhile, many companies such as Lucy with their pink ribbon tee shirts, and Peak Pilates with an awareness dedicated pink Facebook page that says little, are promoting awareness with pink stuff without putting any money behind their campaigns. Some people think of this kind of promotion as pink-washing. Some think anything that increases awareness is helpful. Feel free to comment below.
Related Reading:
Pilates for Breast Cancer Recovery
Breast Cancer site at About.com
There are many great causes out there, from breast cancer to heart disease to hurricane relief to animal welfare, and I’d love to donate to them all. Unfortunately I don’t have that sort of career to lends itself to making constant donations to worthy organizations, so I appreciate the sites that just put out a little pink awareness without making me feel cheap.