If you like pink, October is a good time to shop:  a lot of pink stuff is available for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  If you’re like me, you like supporting that cause and also really like the way it justifies a purchase.

Coffee-Mate is offering a pink mug for $12.95; $5.00 is donated.

OPI has a pink “Pink of Hearts” nail polish.  OPI is donating the same amount of money whether you buy the polish or not, but you’d be supporting their decision to do that.  Plus, pretty color!

Lean Cuisine has these cute pink lunch bags.  The appeal, to me, is getting to CHOOSE ONE.  I like the one on the far right the best, but it’s a tough call.  The bags are $9.95 each, and $5.00 is donated.

Want Need a Nintendo DS?  Um, for a good cause?  ($5.00 of the $125.00 purchase price is donated.)

The pink KitchenAid mixer is my favorite of all pink fundraising items, and $50.00 of the purchase price is donated.  When, recently, my 3-year-old child managed to knock my 15-year-old KitchenAid mixer (WHITE) off the counter, part of me hoped it was totaled so I could justify replacing it with the pink mixer of my dreams.  This is the problem with owning something that works FOREVER and is, as it turns out, practically indestructible.  (Perhaps I can pay him to knock it off the counter again.)

Those of us without pink KitchenAid mixers can at least have the pink KitchenAid measuring set, and I do have it.  I bought it last year (10% of the purchase price is donated) and I still love it.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give anyone a pen as a gift without thinking of the movie Say Anything (”I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen”), but this pink Cross pen would make a great holiday gift for someone difficult to buy for (mother-in-law?), or for a teacher you reallllllly love (it’s not an inexpensive pen); 10% of the purchase price is donated.

Amazon.com has an entire store devoted to products that support breast cancer research (click the categories in the menu on the left to see everything rather than just the “featured” things).  It’s great for shopping pink, but keep in mind that some pink items support breast cancer research by donating part of the purchase price, and some support it by “raising awareness” (i.e., “being pink”).  Check each item’s description to see how much money (if any) is donated.

Some of this stuff is just funny.  Look at this:  it’s a Breast Cancer Awareness Personal Air Purifier: