Awareness Bracelets and their Causes

You've seen the 1/2-inch wide bracelets on the wrists of people at the grocery, bank or at work. These awareness bracelets represent something individual to the wearer. These flexible, rubberized bracelets are colored for a specific cause. There are so many awareness bracelets now, as well as many plain bracelets, used as a fashion statement that the initial causes often get lost in the shuffle. Causes can range from diseases, such as lung and breast cancer, to environmental awareness such as saving the planet.

History

• The Lance Armstrong Foundation created the original awareness bracelets to encourage education and awareness of the affects of cancer after treatment. These yellow bracelets were sold to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a group that focuses on helping cancer patients. The Foundation estimated that 32 million people wore yellow silicone awareness bracelets in 2005. These initial awareness bracelets, colored yellow because of Armstrong's cycling jersey, have taken off as a fund raising and awareness vehicle to promote knowledge and education of many causes around the world.

Fund Raising

• Many companies now produce bracelets for sale to generate money for any number of causes. What many individuals don't realize is that privately sold bracelets through individual vendors often don't result in funds being returned to the original charitable organization. Many charities do retain the initial $1 cost of the bracelet, but retailers keep the remaining profit. The best choice is to purchase awareness bracelets directly from the charitable organization to ensure that funds will be applied completely to research and awareness.

Types

• An endless list of causes is paired with awareness bracelets (see link in Resources). In fact, so many individual causes chose to use awareness bracelets that many causes share the same color bracelet. Pink awareness bracelets stand for breast cancer. Lung cancer wristbands are often white although when paired with a light pearly colored bracelet, it means something entirely different. Light lavender represents an "unspecified cancer" cause. Red represents AIDS awareness.

Considerations

• Many individuals feel the awareness bracelets have lost their effectiveness simply because there are so many causes. Some individual colors have so many causes, it's difficult to even decide if it's worth it to wear one. Books have been written about awareness bracelets. Sarah Moore, the author of "Ribbon Culture," theorizes that the bracelets have been so commercialized that many individuals feel proactive simply by wearing a bracelet without really doing anything at all.

Variations

• Given the prevalence of awareness bracelets and the fact that many diseases and causes actually share colors, there's a trend to add something to make each bracelet different. Some foundations choose to stamp words into the rubber of the bracelet to make a statement or promote a company. Since Lance Armstrong started the craze in 2005, the awareness bracelet craze has taken off. If you've got a cause, you've got a bracelet.