You can easily see that it’s Pinktober from all of the businesses decked in pink during the month of October for breast cancer awareness. What’s hard to see is where exactly your dollars are going when you give to a cause.

According to Breast Cancer Action, pinkwashing is a tool used by companies to promote products that in return are connected to the disease. This is done as a marketing tactic to promote products within certain businesses.

The best ways to avoid being a victim of pinkwashing:

Give directly

Instead of giving to a company or business that claims they give back to breast cancer, donate directly to the cause. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation website offers a direct link, and the page even tells you that 88% of the money you donate goes to research.

Be aware and cautious

Company’s marketing tactics can be misleading. It’s easy to think of Susan G. Komen when thinking of breast cancer, because it is seen everywhere. However, according to GuideStar 2015 990 Form, the Susan G. Komen Organization spends $24,184,105 on salaries alone.

Do research and ask questions

If a business is not willing to give you the exact breakdown of how much they give back, that should be a red flag. Hungry Howies is an emerald sponsor to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, meaning they give $250,000. This money is raised through the pizza company’s Love, Hope & Pizza campaign. The easiest way to find out information is by looking up the business or company to be sure they are open and actually donating to the cause they claim.

By Jessi Young