Susan B. Komen takes ‘pinkwashing’ to its lowest level yet

If a “nonprofit” group could “own” a disease, it would probably be Susan G. Komen.

In fact, it may even have a trademark on the color pink.

Its mission, to “end breast cancer forever” is certainly something we all wish for.

But Komen’s record of teaming up with companies whose products are hazardous to our health has made a lot of people see red instead of pink. Companies, for example, like Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dr. Pepper and Coffee-Mate.

But now, Komen has stooped to what many consider (quite literally) an ever lower new low than KFC. The group has aligned itself for the second year in a row with an oilfield service company named Baker Hughes.

And in the latest example of “pinkwashing,” that company plans to cover a thousand of its giant oil drill bits with pink paint and ship them in pink-topped containers along with breast cancer information.

It’s all part of a campaign called “Doing Our Bit for the Cure,” which also includes a $100,000 donation to the charity from Baker Hughes.

The problem is those bits aren’t designed to find oil the old-fashioned way. Instead, they’ll be used for “fracking.” That’s short for hydraulic fracturing, a way of extracting natural gas from rock by injecting it with fluid to create fissures.

And the chemicals fracking releases are also some of the same ones the Komen web site says “may be associated with breast cancer.”

One group, Breast Cancer Action, has referred to the partnership as “ludicrous.” It also uses some stronger language to describe the “pink” part that I’m not going to put down here. But you get the idea.

Whether the contributions collected by the Susan G. Komen charity will actually help in finding “the cure” remains to be seen. But the best cure for breast cancer — or any disease — is to eliminate the things that cause it.

And it sounds like in this case, that part of the “race for the cure” has been undermined by the race for corporate contributions.

Sources:
“Fracking chemicals, brought to you by Susan G. Komen” Julia Lurie, October 9, 2014, Mother Jones, motherjones.com