By Kelly Anne Fitzpatrick on October 13, 2011 in
October means pink ribbons galore, but it can be a headache to hunt through the grocery store aisles for the products that truly make a difference. That's why we dug into the dollars and cents of breast cancer awareness products to find the most beneficial grocery store buys.
Products that bear a pink ribbon or labeling don't benefit breast cancer causes in the same way. Some companies, for example, make a set donation to a cancer charity no matter how many pink-labeled products they sell. Others will donate a portion of the purchase price of the specific item to a charity, but there may be limits; some companies will only donate proceeds during a specific time period while others cap their donation. So depending on how the company structures its donation, your purchase may or may not have an impact on the actual amount donated. For the "pink" products below, we looked for items that listed specific donation figures and the charity that would receive the donation. Finally, we factored in any caps the company has on its donations, including the number of units it would take to reach that cap.
Good: Ghirardelli Intense Dark chocolate bars, $3 each. For every Intense Dark pink ribbon chocolate bar registered online through the end of the year, Ghirardelli will donate $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. While that amounts to 33% of the purchase price, Ghirardelli's $100,000 cap (a $50,000 minimum plus $1 per bar up to 50,000 bars) means that the well may run dry before you log your purchase. Plus you have to register your purchase online or a donation won't be made.
Better: EmergenC Pink, $11 per box. Twenty cents of every EmergenC Pink purchase benefits Keep a Breast Foundation. Even though this is a relatively low percentage of the purchase price (around 2 percent), EmergenC Pink runs this program year-round with no cap on the annual donation. That means each and every purchase benefits breast cancer charities in a small way.
Best: Yoplait yogurt products, prices vary. Yoplait's Save Lids to Save Lives campaign has become one of the most recognizable at the grocery store. At $2 million, Yoplait had the highest donation cap we found. The company donates 10 cents per lid to Susan G. Komen for the Cure--that's 20 million yogurt cups before reaching the $2 million cap. In past years, the pink lids may have been harder to spot, but this year, Yoplait's opted for all-pink yogurt cups. Plus, for the first year, Yoplait also offers the option to register lids online instead of sending them in by mail. The campaign includes an especially wide range of products from Greek yogurt to fiber-fortified varieties, and lids can be registered until Dec. 31.
Buyer Beware: Proctor & Gamble products. P&G brands (including products from Pringles to Tide) may sport pink ribbons, but if they aren't purchased with a P&G Brandsaver coupon, no donation is made to breast cancer philanthropies at all. Even with the manufacturer's coupon, only 2 cents per coupon is donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.