Each October, pink ribbon beauty products fill drugstore shelves and department store cosmetics counters—and women scoop them up. Why shouldn’t they? Buying a tube of mascara or a pretty pink lipstick is a simple way to support a worthy cause like breast cancer research.

We certainly applaud beauty brands for finding a way to deliver much-needed funds to organizations that are working to find ways to prevent and cure the second most common form of cancer in women. However, “I think we need to think very hard before we buy pink ribbon products,” says Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the national Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry. “We’re encouraged to feel good about buying them because we’re doing something helpful for breast cancer, but that’s not necessarily the case.”

Pinkwashing

What bothers Malkan and others is the fact that many pink ribbon products are made with chemicals that may actually be causing cancer. Yep, you read that right: brands that use the pink ribbon on their packaging and donate money to breast cancer research—such as Estee Lauder, Revlon, and Avon—may themselves be part of the problem. Some call this practice pinkwashing, which describes the activities of companies that claim to support efforts to eradicate breast cancer, while actually contributing to the rising rates of the disease in one way or another.

In the case of beauty brands, pinkwashing means slapping the pink ribbon on products that contain toxic chemicals that have been linked to breast cancer. The Breast Cancer Fund, which looks at the link between environmental factors and breast cancer rates, has named over a dozen chemicals typically found in cosmetics that may promote the risk of breast cancer—and many are found in pink ribbon products. These four toxins are the most prevalent:

Parabens—Commonly used preservatives found in creams, lotions, and makeup that are absorbed through the skin and have been IDd in biopsy samples of breast tumors.

Phthalates—Endocrine disrupting chemicals found in cosmetics like nail polish and anything that contains a synthetic fragrance, that have been linked to early puberty in girls—a risk factor later in life for breast cancer.

1,4-doxane—A contaminant formed in the manufacturing process of shampoo, body wash, and even children’s bath products that has been labeled as a possible carcinogen (cancer causer) by leading research groups.

Ethylene Oxide—Often found in popular brands of shampoo (listed as PEG or any ingredient with an “eth” at the end, like Sodium Laureth Sulfate), this is a known carcinogen—no maybes about it.

While beauty brands claim their products contain such low levels of these chemicals that they’re not a problem, scientists don’t always agree. The average American woman uses 12 personal care products every day—that total daily exposure to multiple chemicals is the problem. And just think about how those toxins can build up over a lifetime: Babies are exposed to them in the womb, young girls pile on products during their developmental years, and then our exposure continues as adults.

So what should you do this month when you’re faced with pinkwashed products?

You can start by reading ingredient panels and choosing not to support companies that use the ingredients listed above and others deemed problematic by the Breast Cancer Fund.

You can also call brands like Estee Lauder and Revlon—just look for the customer service number on the back of a product’s package—and express your concerns about chemical safety. “As long as brands are buying these carcinogenic chemicals from the chemical companies, they are part of the problem,” says Malkan, who suggests urging brands to consider removing them and greening their goods.

It may take time to overhaul formulas, but if these companies truly care about keeping women healthy, doing so would be far more meaningful proof than any pink ribbon.

Megan O'Neill is Beauty Editor at EndlessBeauty.com.

Endless Beauty Media is doing our part to raise money for research by putting together a team called Endless Boobies for the Susan G. Komen Race on November 7 in Austin, Texas (home to our headquarters). You can help us donate to breast cancer by visiting our team page and make a donation by clicking here:Donate to Endless Boobies.