Organizations, companies, and people world over use pink ribbon as a symbol as they engage themselves to breast cancer awareness. This pink ribbon is also known as breast cancer ribbon.

History of Breast Cancer Ribbon:

Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation first introduced the breast cancer ribbon or pink ribbon. Since late 1990, breast cancer survivors who were running in the Race for the Cure, a yearly event organized by the foundation, were handed out pink visors by the foundation. Every participant of the New York City Race was given pink ribbon a couple of months later, in 1991. However, the ribbon was not considered that important then.

Self, a woman health magazine, had Alexandra Penny as the editor in chief in 1992. She was working on the 2nd yearly National Breast Cancer Awareness Month issue. For the guest editor of the NBCAN issue edition in 1992, the senior corporate vice president at Estee Lauder, Evelyn Lauder was invited. The idea to create a ribbon and to enlist the cosmetics giant to distribute it in New York City stores came up to Lauder and Penny together. Distribution of the ribbons in the entire country was then promised by Lauder. However, the color of the ribbon was yet to be decided.

Charlotte Hayley, a 68-year old women, who fought breast cancer created peach color ribbon and sold them with a card that said, “The National Cancer Institute annual budget is 1.8 billion US Dollars, and only 5 percent goes for cancer prevention. Help us wake up our legislators and America by wearing this ribbon.” Her message gained popularity quickly and Lauder and Penny got interested in Hayley’s concept. They decided to work with her by adapting her idea, but Hayley rejected saying that Lauder and Penny were too business-oriented.

Hayley and the lawyers discussed opportunities of working together with Lauder and both of the women came up with a new color. This new color of the ribbon was pink and the pink ribbon later became an international symbol of breast cancer awareness.