Think Before You Pink

Every October, as the leaves begin to change, everything from our drug stores to our football teams go pink. Of course, this is an astounding effort by the community—local and national—to end breast cancer.

Unfortunately, there are organizations’ that claim to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink product, but continues to manufacture products that are linked to the disease. This is known as Pinkwashing. Breast Cancer Action (BCA) encourages consumers to ask questions before purchasing pink products that allegedly donate money to breast cancer research or prevention.

BCA suggests some questions to think about before purchasing a pink product:

1. How much money from your purchase actually goes toward breast cancer? Is the amount clearly stated on the package?

            If you can’t tell how much money is being donated, or if you don’t think it’s enough, give directly to the organization instead.

2. What is the maximum amount that will be donated?

            Many companies place a cap on the amount of money that will be donated. In some cases, that cap is a generous amount. In some cases it’s not. But you should know that, whenever there is a cap, your individual purchase may not contribute anything to the cause, depending on when you shop and whether the cap has already been met.

3. How are the funds being raised?

            Does making the purchase ensure a contribution to the cause? Or do you, the shopper, have to jump through hoops to make sure the money gets where it’s supposed to go?

4. To what breast cancer organization does the money go, and what types of programs does it support?

            Does the product’s package tell you where the money goes and what will be done with it? Will the money go to fund the same studies that have been ongoing for decades (which already get enormous financial support)? Or will it go to under-funded, innovative research into the causes of breast cancer?

5. What is the company doing to assure that its products are not actually contributing to the breast cancer epidemic?

           

            Many companies that raise funds for breast cancer also make products that are linked to the disease. Many cosmetics companies whose products contain chemicals linked to breast cancer also sell their items for the cause.

Next time you see a pink ribbon on a product, make sure you ask yourself the 5 BCA questions before purchasing. Otherwise, your efforts could be disregarded. For more information on Pinkwashing and Breast Cancer Action click here.. 

Bing and Jay-Z Launch Multifaceted International Interactive Campaign

It appears that Bing hopes to benefit significantly in the interactive campaign area with the launch of a multifaceted international, interactive marketing campaign for Jay-Z’s new book, Decoded.

Jay-Z is hiding 300 pages of his new book around the world, and fans get to find them. Jay-Z fans will be able to access pages from his upcoming book — Decoded, an exploration of his life and lyrics — until November 16th, 2010.

How to play: Pages from the book will be physically positioned around the world with the most pages in the New York area, in locations related to specific content featured on Bing — specifically Bing Maps and Bing Entertainment. Five to 10 new pages from the book will be revealed each day; fans can find them in person or online.

Once players find a page, they will receive credit for it online. If they find it in a physical location, they can text a unique game code from the page. Players will be entered into drawings to win a signed copy of the page they’ve located, and each person who locates a page will be entered into a contest for the grand prize — two tickets to see Jay-Z and Coldplay in concert at Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve.

“Pages will be placed in locations related to the content, so that’s everything from high profile advertising like billboards to very very unique placements such as swimming pools and pool tables, and even high-fashion designer clothing racks,” says Lisa Gurry, a Bing spokeswoman and communications director.

The campaign, created by creative agency Droga5, is the first of its kind for Bing. Gurry says it was developed as a way to raise awareness about Jay-Z’s book, while also introducing Bing to a new audience. Gurry says Bing has previously worked with various artists in many aspects of the entertainment industry, and that it will probably continue focusing on that area in the future. For more information about the campaign, go to Mashable. 

We Are Living In A Digital World, But I'm Still A Material Girl

We can no longer deny that technology rules the world we live in. From twitter, to apps, to the blogosphere, our daily lives are full of this new "digital style". Tammy Trujillo summarizes the latest technological innovations and their affect and place in the fashion industry.

The 6 New Rules of Fashion PR:

1) Whether you are a brand or a blogger, provide tips on your site and actionable recommendations to engage with users and generate buzz.

2) Bloggers are an essential piece to fashion PR these days, but don’t treat them like they are old school with boring pitches and uneventful press releases. Bloggers need to be given a unique experience that can help them create unique and valuable content about your brand. Don’t just ask them to do a review or write up. Give them something to write about that is worthy and interesting, different and unique and fits that blogger’s network of readers and fans.

3) Retailers are becoming publishers and publishers are becoming retailers.

The relationship with your retailer and publications will become more valuable to nurture as both are integrating blogger spotlights and offering ecommerce directly through their own channels. Both H&M and Forever 21 are good examples of how retailers have branched out into publishing and feature bloggers to sell products.  Publications have incorporated popular bloggers in its magazine pages, and Nylon Magazine is working on enhancing its iPad app to include ecommerce purchasing options for items in the magazine.

To view the other three top tips from Tammy Trujillo click here.

Have Your Clothes Been Tested?

When you buy a new top, do you ever wonder if its going to shrink as soon as you wash it? Well, many apparel companies are teaming up with ContractLaboratory.com to find out that answer and many more! ContractLaboratory.com assists  companies, manufacturers, retailers, designers, and distributors in finding textiles, footwear garment and apparel contract laboratories and contract research organizations to perform experimentation, analysis, testing, and research on all products. 

Some of the experiments include: 

• Flammability Testing and R&D
• Wearability Testing and R&D
• Allergenous Substances and Allergans Testing
• Shrinkage Testing
• Formaldehyde Determination Testing
• Heavy Metals Content Testing
• Heel Attachment Testing
• Zipper Strength Testing
• Burst Strength Testing
• Tear Strength Testing
• Seam Strength Testing
• Fabric Performance Testing
• Stain Resistance Testing
• Weathering Testing
• Care Label Determination and Verification Testing

What does this mean for you as a consumer? For one thing, clothes that have been tested are known to keep their shape longer. And have you ever bought a shirt and as soon as you got home you realized their is a small holes or snag? Those shirts will not make it to store shelves any longer!