Help Us Fight Ovarian Cancer
It will come as no surprise to our long-term followers as well as new fans alike that Playful Promises, a proudly feminist and ethical brand, is always on the look-out for ways we can contribute to improving the lives of women and to giving something back.
Over the next month, we will be doing just that, as we will be donating 20% of sales from selected sets (Marlene Wine, Valerie, Audrey, Love and Reina), to two large charities dedicated to fighting ovarian cancer. From 10th of January until 15th of February, the donations will be sent to OCRFA and Target Ovarian Cancer, both leading ovarian cancer charities in the US and UK respectively.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women, a type of cancer for which a cure is yet to be found. Each year, almost 22,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and more than 14,000 women will die from it worldwide. A woman's lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer is about one in 73. These are worrying statistics to be sure, but everyone can get involved to help fight this disease and raise awareness. OCRFA and Target Ovarian Cancer are just two of the large and dedicated organisations doing just that.
OCRFA, Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance, is the largest non-governmental funder for research and advocacy of ovarian cancer in the US, having raised close to $75million towards research and eradication of this devastating disease since 1998. The Alliance is funding top scientists and grantees in their field, who work on finding better diagnosis, more effective treatment, and eventually, a cure. This is achieved through a number of means such fighting for governmental funding – OCRFA has managed to secure about $170 million of annual funding, as well as securing its own fundraising and donation efforts by involving corporate partners, recruiting grassroots advocates and encouraging volunteering and donations. Some of their flagship programmes, such as Woman To Woman, Survivors Teaching Students, and a plethora of grass-roots volunteer schemes, ensure that women have support from the time of diagnosis through to treatment, as well as raising awareness, and encouraging participation in clinical trials.
Source: Target Ovarian Cancer
Target Ovarian Cancer is the UKs leading ovarian cancer charity, which works to further research as well as supporting 7,000 women diagnosed in the UK every year. Target Ovarian Cancer’s campaigns tackle the three biggest barriers to progress: late diagnosis, limited choice of treatments, and the isolation so often felt by women with ovarian cancer. Initiatives such as Pathfinder, and events such as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and World Ovarian Cancer Day raise awareness and fight for government-funded national campaigns and increased funding. Furthermore, research projects such as GTEOC study and Interleukin-6 regularly fund ovarian cancer specific research across the whole of the UK. It has already committed over £850,000 to several of the aforementioned projects and continues working with its reputation as an outstanding leader in this field of research. But we can always do more, and we need to do more.
Survival rates from ovarian cancer are much lower than for many other cancers, due to late diagnosis and a lack of effective treatment options. Research into new treatments lags significantly behind other cancer types, such as breast cancer, resulting in thousands of preventable deaths worldwide each year. There is definitely a long way to go - but you can help. Both charities, alongside their lobbying for government funding and corporate sponsorships, are always on a lookout for help and donations from people just like you.
We know that our fans and supporters want to contribute to ethical causes as well as being stylish, and our spotlight on this terrible disease over the next few weeks will allow you to do just that. Our lush new additions, including Marlene in wine, Valerie, Audrey, Love and Reina, will not only make fantastic additions to your lingerie and lounging wardrobes, but will help to continue funding the vital and varied work of the above charities, thus speeding up the day when a permanent cure will finally be found.
Fashion never looked this good. Or this ethical.
Make sure you keep an eye on the symptoms of ovarian cancer, and remember that it cannot be diagnosed via a smear/pap test.
