GirlTalk

With October as Breast-cancer awareness month, and also in response to Gina’s previous entry on Christina Applegate, (Click here to check it out) I thought it would be nice to highlight some simple ways we can all contribute to the cause.

Most people know how easy it is to donate to a charity - and there are many out there for Breast Cancer research - but not everyone is aware of how many products out in the market contribute proceeds to breast cancer causes. I think the best part of this idea is many of the products - from moisturizers to t-shirts - are ones women normally purchase regardless. So why not choose a product that will help a charity? It’s like killing two birds with one stone, and I’m all for anything that can shrink two steps into one. The important thing to remember when making a purchase like this, however, is to check for a specific listed cause and donation amount on the product.

As a starters guide, I found a list (provided by The Associated Press) of some of these products. Browse though and see if any of your favorite products are helping the fight for a cure!

-Many of the brands under the Estee Lauder corporate umbrella offer fundraising products for the BCRF, for which Evelyn Lauder serves as founder and chairwoman. Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion will donate $10 from each $35 bottle, Aveda is giving $4 from each $21 tube of Hand Relief lotion, and Bumble and Bumble will give $1 from each can of Classic Hairspray. Donna Karan Cosmetics is making a $15,000 contribution from the sales of a limited-edition Cashmere Mist Eau de Toilette spray and Jo Malone is donating $15,000 from its Red Roses Cologne.

The Estee Lauder brand is giving $500,000 in connection with the sale of its Pink Ribbon Collection, including a jeweled pin and Elizabeth Hurley lipsticks and gloss.

-Saks Fifth Avenue’s Key to the Cure T-shirt is designed by Karl Lagerfeld. For each arrow-motif shirt sold in stores or on Saks.com, $35 of the $40 price tag is donated to the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund.

-Ford Motor Co. offers a Warriors in Pink package for its V-6 Mustang coupes and convertibles that includes pink rocker-tape striping, pink stitching and a pink-ribbon badge under the pony ornament. For each of these packages, $500 will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Ford also has a complementary line of clothing and accessories, which donates 100 percent of net proceeds.

-Bobby Jones’ half-zip mock turtleneck in pink is donating 20 percent of the $145 purchase price to The BCRF. This program will run through July 2009.

-Judith Ripka will donate 10 percent of the sale price of every $350 silver-and-gold Athena bracelet with diamonds and pink crystals, with a guaranteed minimum contribution of $5,000, to Susan G. Komen.

-White House Black Market has a dedicated line called Give Hope Collection. All net proceeds, up to $200,000, from the pink-trimmed styles will go to Living Beyond Breast Cancer.

-Avon’s Breast Cancer Crusade offerings are numerous — and inexpensive — with all products priced under $15. Some of the highlights, which benefit The Avon Foundation, include an $8 bubble bath, with a $7.07 donation for each unit sold; a silver-tone tennis bracelet with rose crystals and an enamel-like pink ribbon, with a $3.36 donation for each $5 bracelet; and faux shearling-lined pink clogs, which give a $2 donation for each $15 pair.

-C.O. Bigelow will donate $250,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation while offering a $29.50 Cancer Vixen Kit that includes lemon-cream body moisturizer, body wash, lip tint in a “pink mint” flavor, a cooling foot cream and quince hand lotion.

-The plush Care Bears Pink Power Bear by American Greetings, with its message of caring and sharing, wears a pink bracelet. It’s sold at Target for $19.99, with $1 of each purchase going toward BCRF.

-Splendid’s $42 pink, polka-dot tank top sends $5 to The BCRF.

-Outerwear brand Mackage is giving $100 to The BCRF with each sale of its asymmetrical-zip Hope coat, made of black wool with leather trim.

-Philosophy has pledged a minimum donation of $10,000 from the sale of $20 bottles of She Colors My Day bubble bath to the EIF Women’s Cancer Research Fund.

-From each $32 set of Kate’s Paperie Gianna Rose Atelier Scented Soaps, $4 will be donated to the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation.