Awareness Ribbons: Colours and Meanings

What are awareness ribbons?

Awareness ribbons are ribbons that show support and remembrance, and raise awareness for a specific cause, usually related to health and medical conditions, or social issues. The awareness ribbons are customarily short, coloured ribbons in a folded loop, where different colours are associated with different movements. Other than in a classic ribbon form, the awareness ribbons also serve as an iconic symbol on pins, stickers, magnets, pens, key chains, wristbands and other awareness merchandise.

How do awareness ribbons help?

Awareness ribbons are easily visible to the public when pinned on clothing and can be simply displayed at counters.

They also help spark conversations and facilitate discussions about otherwise uncomfortable topics that can be difficult to bring up. Initiating a conversation is the first step to spreading awareness for a campaign, and awareness ribbons make the process simpler.

Awareness ribbons easily aid in fundraising and are a good way to raise money for a campaign or charity. Awareness ribbons are cheap even when priced more than its production costs, which encourages people to purchase the ribbons and continue to spread awareness for the cause.

The main objective of raising awareness is to educate the public about the movement and get people involved with your campaign. Awareness ribbons usually come with a backing card which includes information such as the campaign’s aim, how people can contribute and contact details, which efficiently distributes information about your awareness campaign without needing representatives to explain information to people individually.

Awareness Ribbon Colours and Meanings

Different colours and shades of awareness ribbons are used to spread awareness for different causes. Below is a concise list of colours and shades, and the campaigns they are associated with.

Red & Pink Ribbon

Burgundy: Antiphospholipid Syndrome, Adults with Disabilities, Brain Aneurysm, Post-Polio Syndrome, Caesarean Section, Lymphatic Malformation, Meningitis, Multiple Myeloma, Sickle Cell Anemia

Peach: Endometrial Cancer, Vaginal Cancer, Uterine/Endometrial Cancer

Pink: Breast Cancer, Nursing Mothers, Hypokalemic Periodic Paralysis

Red: AIDS/HIV, Heart Diseases, Burn Victims, Haemophilia, Substance Abuse, Tuberculosis, Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

Yellow & Orange

Amber: Appendix Cancer

Yellow: Bone Cancer, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Suicide Awareness, Endometriosis, Obesity, Spina Bifida, Military Support, Sewol Ferry Disaster

Orange: Multiple Sclerosis, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, Leukemia, Cultural Diversity, Kidney Cancer, Motorcycle Safety, Agent Orange, Self-Injury

Blue

Light Blue: Addison’s Disease, Klinefelter’s Syndrome, Trisomy 18, Men’s Health, Graves’ Disease, Prostate Cancer, Shprintzen Syndrome, Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome, Achalasia Disease

Blue: Alopecia, Anti-Bullying, Crime Victims’ Rights, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Dystonia, Erb’s Palsy, Familial Polyposis, Foster Care Awareness, Teens against Smoking, Myositis, Pompe Disease

Dark Blue: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Drunk Driving, Arthritis, Child Abuse, Colon Cancer, Rectal Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Huntington’s Disease, Krabbe Disease, Transverse Myelitis, Water Safety, Crime Victims’ Rights, Free Speech

Teal/Turquoise: Marker X Syndrome, Agoraphobia, Batten Disease, Martin-Bell Syndrome, Anxiety Disorder, Compulsive Disorder, Cervical Cancer, Food Allergies, Myasthenia Gravis, Sexual Assault, Ovarian Cancer, Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Polycystic Kidney Disease, Tourette’s Syndrome, Tsunami Victims, Interstitial Cystitis, Addiction Recovery

Green

Light Green: Sexually Transmitted Infections, Chronic Pelvic Pain, Celiac Disease

Lime Green: Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, Muscular Dystrophy, Sandhoff Disease, Lyme Disease

Mint Green: Genetic Disorders, Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis, Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease

Green: Cerebral Palsy, Bipolar Disorder, Eye Injury, Adrenal Cancer, Dwarfism, Depression, Bone Marrow Donation, Environment, Childhood Depression, Glaucoma, Organ Donation, Neural Tube Defects, Mitochondrial Disease, Pedestrian Safety, Spinal Cord Injuries, Scoliosis, Mental Health Awareness, Maternal Mental Health Awareness

Jade: Hepatitis B

Emerald: Liver Cancer

Purple

Purple: International Women's Day, Animal Abuse, Crohn’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, Anti-Violence, Chronic Pain, Colitis, Cystic Fibrosis, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Homelessness, Lupus, Neuropathy Awareness, Macular Degeneration, Domestic Violence, Pancreatic Cancer, Rett Syndrome, Drowning Awareness, Crohn’s Disease, Gynecological Cancer, Epilepsy, Testicular Cancer, Eosinophilic Disorders, Hodgkin’s Disease, Testicular Cancer

Periwinkle: Gastric Cancer, Acid Reflux (GERD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Esophageal Cancer, Small Intestine Cancer, Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Pulmonary Hypertension, Stomach Cancer

Neutral

Black: Gun control, Anti-Terrorism, Narcolepsy, Mourning, POW/MIA, Sleep Apnea, Melanoma

Brown: Anti-Tobacco

Copper: Herpes

Cream: Paralysis, Spinal Disorders and Injuries

Gold: Childhood Cancer, Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, Neuroblastoma

Grey: Brain Cancer, Asthma, Borderline Personality Disorder

Silver: Parkinson’s Disease, Schizophrenia, Dyslexia, Sciatic Pain

White: Adoption, Congenital Cataracts, Bone Cancer, Anti-Child Pornography, Blindness, Holocaust Remembrance, Osteoporosis, Safe Motherhood, Lung Cancer

Multicolour Combinations for Awareness Ribbons

Black and White: Anti-Racism, Carcinoid Cancer, Vaccine Awareness

Blue and Purple: Pediatric Stroke, Rheumatoid Arthritis

Blue and Red: Congenital Heart Defects and Disease, Noonan’s Syndrome, Pulmonary Fibrosis, Rare Lung Diseases

Blue and Yellow: Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Cushing’s Syndrome

Blue and Grey: Diabetes

Blue, Marigold and Purple: Bladder Cancer

Light Blue and Dark Blue: Hydrocephalus

Light Blue, Light Green and Pink: Hypotonia

Dark Blue, Orange and Orchid: Psoriatic Arthritis

Burgundy and Ivory: Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Throat Cancer, Head and Neck Cancer, Oral Cancer

Burgundy and Purple: Arachnoiditis

Pink and Blue: Hyperammonemia, Amniotic Fluid Embolism, Baby Safe Haven, Male Breast Cancer, Infertility, Infant Loss, Pregnancy Loss, Birth Defects

Pink, Purple and Teal: Thyroid Cancer

Purple and Red: Cluster Headaches

Purple and Black: Tracheotomy, Necrotizing Enterocolitis

Purple and Green: Stickler Syndrome, Schizencephaly, Hospice and Palliative Cancer, Anal Cancer

Purple, Teal and Green: Medullary Sponge Kidney

Purple and Yellow: Autoimmune Hepatitis, Chemical Injury, Lupus, Endometriosis

Orchid and Orange: Eczema, Psoriasis

Red and Pearl: Latex Allergy

Red and White: Aplastic Anemia

Red, White and Black: B12 Deficiency

Red and Yellow: Hepatitis C

Red, Yellow and Blue: Forms of Trisomy

Teal and Purple: Suicide Awareness

Teal and White: Cervical Cancer

Silver and Blue: Disorders of Corpus Callosum

Gold and Silver: Hearing Disorders, Tinnitus, Meniere’s Disease

Looking for Ribbon for Your Awareness Campaign?

 for ready made awareness ribbon with safety pin.

If you are interested in creating custom ribbon for your own awareness campaigns, contact us at sales@amacdougall.com.au or call us at +61 3 9764 2280. Or, shop from our french satin ribbon range or grosgrain ribbon range for rolls of ribbon. If you're after a smaller amount, check out our ribbon by the metre collection. Here at Cherry Ribbon, we've got you sorted for all your event needs!