(NaturalNews) Breast Cancer Action (www.BCaction.org) is one of the few non-profit cancer organizations recommended by NaturalNews. They're the creators of the Think Before You Pink campaign that encourages consumers to exercise more skepticism about the idea that "buying more pink stuff" can somehow help women with cancer.

Mike: Can you tell us about Breast Cancer Action?

Barbara: Yes, the website is www.BCAction.org and we have a companion website, which people can get to from www.BCAction.org, which is www.ThinkBeforeYouPink.org.

Mike: You have been running that for several years now. I think six or seven years, right?

Barbara: It is six years old actually. We started as a formal campaign in 2002. We have been asking questions like this in other context for longer, but as a formal campaign it launched in 2002.

Mike: Okay, outstanding. I have seen more coverage of the "Think Before You Pink" campaign in the mainstream media this year. It seems like it is starting to have some impact. What are you seeing?

Barbara: Well it is interesting. I think there is a contrast of things going on. It is clearly having an impact. We start asking questions and all of a sudden look who else is asking questions. The Komen Foundation is asking questions or asking people to ask questions. Not the same questions we are asking because they can't.

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation , for which transparency is actually a problem , is starting to encourage people to ask questions. That is all good in terms of transparency. There is more attention to the issue.

At the same time, it seems that every year there is more marketing. I am not sure how long this can go on. I think there is a contrast. It is interesting. As the critique emerges there are more people understanding the critique and asking questions from a consumer side. I think the companies don't get it yet. That is a bigger problem.

Mike: What are some of the most outrageous examples of these pink ribbon license products or companies marketing with pink ribbons but not really contributing to breast cancer prevention?

Six questions to screen for 'pink washers'
Barbara: Well who works on prevention besides some advocacy organizations and some researchers? Bless them! It is all sort of in the mind's eye. Let me talk about prevention for a minute because this is actually very important. We have been running this campaign since 2006. The focus has been on transparency and accountability.

Do we know... there are six questions we want people to ask. They are on the website. How much money from your purchase actually goes to breast cancer? Is there a cap? What's the maximum they will donate?

How much money was spent by the company on marketing? Was it more than they gave to breast cancer, because that will tell you it is more about the company's bottom line than it is about women who are sick. Are the funds being raised in a way that it is your money that is being given a corporate label or is it with the corporate money that is going?

To what breast cancer organizations does the money go, and what types of programs does it support? It is not enough to say we support breast cancer. Excuse my French, but what the hell is that? Specifics.

Well, what does the program do? This is the sixth question and the question that women are the only ones asking, which is what is the company doing to assure that its products aren't contributing to the epidemic. That is the prevention question. There are four industry groups that are trying to have it both ways. They want to tell you they care deeply about women's lives, which is why they put a pink ribbon on something.

You know it is interesting as just sort of a little side note, many companies think that their way into women's hearts because women are the shoppers, right, is breast cancer because women care more about breast cancer than any other disease even though other things are more likely to kill them.

Actually they see that they understand the bottom line will be helped by putting a pink ribbon on something, but the companies that at the same time do that , put a pink ribbon on something , say we really care about women. Look we put a pink ribbon here. We give money to breast cancer and at the same time make a product that has been linked to breast cancer.

Mike: Exactly.

Barbara: Those are the two-timers. We call them 'pink washers.' This comes out of the environmental movement. Our allies in the environmental movement some time ago coined the phrase 'green washing' where companies forge a great example of this and they are also pink washers so Ford... you can get Ford coming and going. Where Ford claims to really care about the environment, says it has a green campaign and at the same time is one of the worst offenders in terms of pollution in many ways.

Pink washing of the companies that say we care and at the same time are creating a product that is not good for your health. Those are car companies involved in breast cancer, dairy companies involved in breast cancer , if they use milk that has been stimulated with rBGH or bovine growth hormone , alcohol companies and the cosmetics companies. Our focus this year is on the car companies.

The pink ribbon game
Mike: Wow, hooray to you for pointing this out. This is so important. Why do you think consumers are so easily hoodwinked into just buying anything with a pink ribbon on it? I mean isn't this happening because it is so successful from a commercial point of view and does that not depend somewhat on consumer behavior?

Barbara: The success of the marketing campaigns depends entirely on consumer behavior, which is why we are trying to change consumer behavior. This campaign is not called "Think Before You Pink" for nothing. We are trying to get people to think.

Every time you see a pink ribbon, do you know the answers to these questions and if you don't might you buy something else? It is very clear that consumer pressure can change company behavior. Why this is so successful is because we are in a culture now.

It has been true in the United States I think for a very long time where we want simple answers. We want the pill that will prevent cancer. We want to do the simple thing and the simple thing will actually assuage your consciousness and solve the problem. Buying something is pretty simple. If shopping could cure breast cancer it would be cured by now.

What we say to people is that people need to keep in mind the players in this pink marketing thing have different motives. Companies are trying to make money. That is their business. They make money by selling products. They think, and they have evidence to show that they sell more products if they link to a cause that shoppers care about, and most shoppers are women.

You have two products in front of you. One has a pink ribbon and one does not. If you care about breast cancer why would you not buy the pink ribbon one? Something is better than nothing is usually the question we get. Our answer is not always. They do it because it is successful. We need the consuming public to start asking some serious questions.

Mike: Now I have reported on many of the organizations in the breast cancer industry and when I started talking about a lot of the other non-profits my readers kept sending me your link and saying you need to support Breast Cancer Action. The more I looked into your organization that is when I became a real ally , a supporter of what you are doing.

Barbara: Thank you so much.

Mike: Here is a question for you. Why is it so important that your organization does not accept money from companies that profit from the disease?