Coloured Wristbands

Swimming pool bands Who would have thought, just a year ago, that the humble silicon wristband seen in so many swimming pools as a means of timing your session and length of time in the water would evolve into the must have colourful fashion accessory of the year? I am of course referring to the coloured wristbands that so many of us are now wearing, initially to raise money for charity, but now it seems that we must have them at any cost! Many of the bands were limited to a specific production quantity and with supplies now exhausted, they have become much sought after items on sites such as ebay, though sadly, not all of this revenue is benefiting charity. This craze, fueled by celebrities wearing the LIVESTRONG charity bands has even led to imitations flooding the market and a whole host of similar products profiting from the current trend of wearing your colour, message or logo for all to see. Now they come in a range of sizes and some even clip on with press studs or catches!

Blue wristband Have you ever wondered how the craze, that transgresses the age generations, of wearing coloured wristbands began? Well, the BBC were the first to bring out a blue band to be worn to encourage children to stand up to bullying. This was quickly followed by Nike who brought out a yellow wristband known as the 'stand up speak up' wristband to raise awareness of and money for testicular cancer by supporting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. This yellow wristband stands for courage, hope, faith, strength, bravery, victory and endurance, although there seems to be a red one about now with the same messages engraved into the band. One World wristband Following this, Nike has promoted an intertwined black and white wristband to allow people to make a statement, without confrontation, against racism. A green wristband appeared for 'One Ireland' for St Patrick's Day, representing 'living together in peace'. The green band now seems to also be worn by vegetarians and vegans too and there is a green and blue variety that has the message 'One World'! Playboy wristband There are any number of other coloured bands with different meanings becoming available from outlets such as Crafts 'N' Scraps and the pink 'Playboy' band has become very popular.

More recently, Dorothy Perkins have promoted a pink wristband as a means of raising funds to fight breast cancer standing for support, knowledge and strength. This campaign has been backed by the Sun newspaper and there has been a phenomenal response to their initiative to support Kylie Minogue who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 at the age of 36 as her fans flocked to buy pink wristbands in a moving gesture of support for the star. Pink hospital Kylie, who is a firm believer in colour therapy has now had an operation to have a lump removed and she had her hospital room painted pink, by persuading bosses at the Cabrini Hospital to redecorate as the colour is said to promote health. Friends say she is wearing pink clothes and many are sending pink get-well gifts as she rests at her parent's Melbourne home. Pink is also the colour of breast cancer charities that Kylie has supported in the past. Did you know that in 2002 Kylie donated one of her bras, a simply black mesh bra with pink straps to an auction in London to raise money for breast cancer awareness and it was sold for £2,400. She has also worked to extend awareness of prostate cancer, after her father was diagnosed with the disease.