This compact by Estee Lauder is just one example of how beauty companies are supporting the fight against breast cancer.

In the Pink

The beauty industry bands together to raise awareness – and funds – for breast cancer charities.

By Joanna Cosgrove
Online Editor

October is national breast cancer awareness month and the beauty industry is doing its part to raise awareness of the disease that will be diagnosed in more than 180,000 women this year alone, according to The American Cancer Society. Retail shelves are dotted with products sporting pink ribbons to denote that a portion of the profits from the sale will be donated to various breast cancer charities.

For some beauty companies, such as Avon and Philosophy, raising awareness of the disease isn’t an October-only endeavor. Others, like Estée Lauder and tarte, have taken their support of breast cancer charities to new heights by creating special standout packages to draw greater attention to the breast cancer movement.

This year marks Estée Lauder’s 15th year of involvement in the fight against breast cancer. To commemorate the occasion, the company is hosting a series of high-profile events around the world, sell pink beauty products, illuminate hundreds of famous landmarks in pink lights and engage corporate partners, government officials, celebrities and the media to spread its lifesaving message about the need for early detection of breast cancer and to raise funds for coordinated research for prevention and a cure for breast cancer.

“The battle is not yet won in the fight to beat breast cancer, but we are getting close,” remarked Evelyn H. Lauder, senior corporate vice president of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and founder and chairman of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. “Today, there are more scientific leads than ever before, yet government funding for breast cancer research continues to decline. That is why, now more than ever, we must raise our voices even higher and continue to raise funds for research.”

Fifteen Estée Lauder Companies’ brands will sell pink products to help raise money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The most ornately packaged item is a brass compact bejeweled with a Breast Cancer Research Foundation ribbon hand set with pink pave crystals.

“Estee Lauder’s commitment to this cause is deep and longstanding (and) we are also proud of our production of metal compacts,” commented Leo Mascotte, vice president, package and store design, Estée Lauder. “They are a wonderful example of Estée Lauder’s brand heritage, and are unique in the cosmetic industry. The compact design allowed us to affirm our commitment to a cure while showcasing one the brand’s unique product ranges.”

The elegant compact contains Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer and is applied with a roll-up Bronze Goddess Brush which also features a pink ribbon logo. The product retails for $45.00. The compact is part of the company’s 4-product Pink Ribbon Collection comprised of the compact and three pink lipcolors. Estée Lauder has pledged to donate $500,000 in connection with the sale of its Pink Ribbon Collection.

Philosophy is supporting research via sales of its Shower for the Cure.

Like Estée Lauder, Philosophy has affirmed its commitment to raising breast cancer awareness with its Shower for the Cure shower gel which benefits the Women’s Cancer Research Fund. Dubbed a “pink ribbon shower gel,” the all-in-one shampoo and bath formula is housed in the company’s signature clear PETE bottle but in place of traditional verbiage is a stark, modernized pink ribbon graphic and a pale pink Shower for the Cure graphic. The 16 ounce product retails for $20.00. One hundred percent of the product’s net proceeds are donated to the Women’s Cancer Research Fund.

Avon is also committed to raising funds for breast cancer charities year-round via its Avon Foundation’s Breast Cancer Crusade. The company offers a variety of products including jewelry and related accessories all priced under $8.00. This year the company also introduced a signature .15 oz Avon Breast Cancer Crusade Lip Balm “Moisturize for the Cause!” which retails for $1.50. All net proceeds go to the Breast Cancer Crusade. Through the sale of fundraising products alone, Avon has raised over $89 million since 1992, and through all fundraising initiatives has exceeded $500 million raised and donated worldwide for both its breast cancer and domestic violence charities.

Tarte cosmetics launched its vitamin-infused Sweet Dreems lipstick in a special pink tube to denote that 20 percent of the retails sales for the $22 lipstick will go to the Young Survival Coalition, an organization dedicated to helping breast cancer victims under the age of 40.

The lipstick was part of a special QVC Pink Ribbon Beauty Show on October 1 and it along with the other beauty products featured in the segment, are earmarked to donate a portion of sales proceeds to various breast cancer charities until the end of the month.