You may have read our recent, popular blog about coloured wristbands and how they are used to generate awareness for various causes. We received so many inquiries about this subject that we decided to create a follow-up blog.
In case you missed the last blog, coloured wristbands have become an essential tool for different campaigns. From supporting causes like the Livestrong foundation and the Stand-Up, Speak Up anti-racism campaign, awareness wristbands help spread your message fast. They can also be used to generate essential funding.
Here, we will look at what the different coloured wristbands can mean when you want to use them as awareness wristbands.
Popular wristband colour meanings
What do yellow wristbands represent?
The original awareness wristband was created by Nike for the Livestrong campaign for cancer awareness. The yellow awareness wristbands generated over 500 million dollars for cancer research. From this success, yellow is often used for cancer awareness causes. Yellow also remains one of the most popular colours for generating awareness of new campaigns.
Yellow has always been a colour that signifies warmth and happiness. It also regularly shows up in fashion trends each year. In 2021, the yellow colour choice was buttery soft yellow. But today, the yellow colour of choice is bright, sunshine yellow. This means our neon yellow plain wristbands and yellow silicone wristbands are not only on-trend this year but also an excellent choice for your awareness wristbands.
What do green wristbands represent?
Green is often seen as the colour of nature, spring, rebirth, revival and new starts. It can also be interpreted as “getting the green light” for something, i.e., the approval or go-ahead for an idea. All of these ‘green meanings’ can be a perfect reason to choose green awareness wristbands for your campaign.
In recent years, green wristbands have been used to promote awareness of disorders like cerebral palsy and Tourettes and organ donation. Green is also often used for environmental awareness campaigns because of the natural symbolism of spring, grass and trees.
Another trending colour for 2023, green in all shades from lime-green to classic kelly-green, was all over the spring fashion runways. A great way to maximise the green colour trend for your awareness wristbands is to use our custom wristband designer to create memorable messaging for your neon green Tyvek wristbands, or shop our neon green silicone wristbands.
What do aqua wristbands represent?
When we look at colour therapy, teal (or aqua) represents calmness, serenity and strength. Again, another excellent colour to choose for awareness wristbands. It is often seen as a more mature or discreet colour choice than the classic neon shades we often see. Choosing teal as the colour for your campaign can harness this difference to make your awareness wristbands stand out from the crowd.
Teal is the official international colour of ovarian cancer awareness and is recognised throughout Australia. A hugely successful campaign using teal awareness wristbands is the Team Teal, a partnership between Harness Racing and Women Can, raising awareness and funds for ovarian and gynaecological cancer in Australia and New Zealand. So far, in 2022, they have raised over $170,000 for women’s access to cancer clinical trials, regardless of where they live. You can find our Aqua 25mm Tyvek wristbands here.
What do orange wristbands represent?
If you choose orange awareness wristbands, the colour will immediately project joy, warmth, enthusiasm, health and happiness. Overall, orange is the colour of vitality and energy. Bold orange has been described as the must-try colour for 2022 happy fashion.
Orange has been an incredibly successful colour in many campaigns, from brands like Orange Telecom, Amazon and Penguin books. When we look at charities and awareness campaigns, orange has been used to promote awareness of leukemia, world hunger and self-harm. For example, the current Australian ‘Bullying No Way’ campaign uses orange to promote awareness throughout schools, classrooms, and among families.
If you want to promote happiness, energy and warmth, our orange wristbands are a perfect way to do this. They are also available to bulk buy as wholesale custom-printed wristbands, or as custom silicone wristbands to elevate your unique messaging.
What do black wristbands represent?
“Black is the new black”. The colour of sophistication, professionalism, mystery and power, black can be a solid choice to generate awareness of your cause.
Black awareness wristbands have been used to promote various causes like anti-terrorism, insomnia and skin cancer. The 2020 Black Lives Matter campaign most recently used the classic combination of black awareness wristbands with white writing to share their powerful message.
You might not realise it, but you can print custom designs onto our black wristbands. So you have the option to use either plain black Tyvek wristbands, black silicone wristbands, or contact us for a design proof of white print on black wristbands!
What do pink wristbands represent?
Pink has long represented friendship, harmony, femininity and approachability. However, hot or neon pink has recently picked up momentum representing rebelliousness, punk fashion and sexuality, balancing the sweetness of light or powder pink.
If you were to ask most people what cause pink championed, they would immediately tell you breast cancer. Breast cancer awareness was one of the first campaigns to symbolically use colour to generate attention. Building on the femininity of the colour, the campaign has generated international success.
Avon is a company whose core value is helping women support themselves through their work and the charities and causes they champion. The Avon Foundation for Women believes “a better world for women is a better world for everyone.” They have raised over $1.1 billion US dollars and promote awareness in over 50 countries.
If you want to promote a female-centric message, our Australian Made Neon Pink Plain Tyvek Wristbands could be perfect for you. However, choosing a custom pink glitter finish silicone wristband could also be excellent for promoting a modern, energetic, rebellious message.
What do purple wristbands represent?
Purple has historically always been linked to royalty and nobility. This is because it was a difficult colour to produce, meaning only the rich and royal could afford it. Some rulers even forbid their people from wearing it – on pain of death.
In modern days, purple is still linked to this feeling of royalty, representing luxury, power, ambition, mystery and magic.
Purple has been used by many charities to raise awareness, including pancreatic cancer, ADHD and Alzheimers. Purple is the international colour for Pancreatic cancer, and they combine the colour with the awareness month in November to generate maximum awareness.
In Australia, the Wear it Purple campaign supports LGBTQ+ at-risk youth. Then there is also the ADHD awareness foundation, which combines with the ADHD awareness month in October to generate maximum impact using purple awareness wristbands and other merchandise.
If your awareness message is in line with the meanings behind the colour purple or with the charities already championing purple, then this will be the perfect awareness colour for you. Have a look at our plain purple wristbands for inspiration, or check out our purple glow-in-the-dark silicone wristbands.
What do blue wristbands represent?
The colour blue evokes the feeling of freedom, space, nature, spirituality, inspiration and sensitivity. Pantone also confirmed that Very Peri – a blue-purple hue was its colour choice for 2022, making blue an on-trend choice for creating awareness for your project.
Blue wristbands have been used so far to promote awareness of bullying, most famously in the UK with the Beat Bullying campaign when the blue wristbands were championed by celebrities like Bono and David Beckham. Other campaigns to use blue have been esophageal and stomach cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson’s.
In the same way that pink has been linked to female-centric messaging, blue has also been used for male-orientated messages in awareness campaigns like men‘s mental health, prostate cancer and men’s health weeks.
Check out our wristband designer if you want to use blue awareness wristbands; we offer both a dark blue wristband colour that we call “Neon Blue” and a light blue wristband colour that we call “Sky Blue”. If you are struggling for inspiration, look at our first blog about awareness wristbands. It has top tips on what to consider when designing your awareness wristbands.
What do red wristbands represent?
Colour psychology tells us that red is associated with health, anger, passion, courage and strength. However, this strong colour has quite different meanings in different cultures. For example, in Chinese tradition, red envelopes of money are given to friends and family, so red represents luck, wealth and happiness. In India, brides wear red which is associated with purity.
Red has long been used to promote AIDS awareness. It was the first colour to be associated with such a campaign in 1991, with their famous red lapel ribbons. Now, red is also used by campaigns promoting awareness and generating funds for heart disease, strokes and substance abuse.
The strong legacy of historic campaigns using red awareness wristbands, plus the differing meanings from country to country, mean this can be a challenging colour to choose. Having said that, if your message is in sync with one of these cultural beliefs or legacy campaigns, you can have real success with your awareness. So look at our Australian Made 25mm Red Tyvek Wristbands or red silicone wristbands and see how you could use them in your campaign.
What do rainbow wristbands represent?
The symbolism of a rainbow of colours is the coming together of a variety or diversity of different items – or people – to make something more substantial and beautiful. In 1994 the rainbow became the official flag for LGBTQIA+ pride. Rainbows signify hope, joy, equality, freedom and peace.
The rainbow flag – and by association, rainbow wristbands – are used to promote various diverse causes: equal rights, same-sex marriage, gay rights and more. The Human Rights Campaign is an excellent example of one of these causes.
Discover our full-colour wristbands which allow you to completely cover the wristband in your unique design – including a rainbow if you choose!
What do white wristbands represent?
White is the colour of purity, elegance, simplicity and peace. Often overlooked for other more “colourful” options, brands and campaigns that embrace white and their core colour often stand out for their uniqueness in a sea of bright, clashing colours.
White has been used by campaigners for blind awareness, anti-racism and adoption. Arguably the most famous is the Make Poverty History campaign, a coalition of international aid and development agencies. The white awareness wristbands symbolise the campaign fighting for the end of worldwide poverty.
A plain white Tyvek event wristband or silicone wristband could be a perfect base for your awareness wristband. Alternatively, you can add your own logo and design using our wristband designer.
Why use wristbands to promote campaigns?
From the above examples, you can see that using different coloured wristbands for awareness campaigns has been – and continues to be – incredibly successful. It is a fast, obvious way to create an impactful message.
Plus, when raising awareness of a campaign to generate funds and raise money for charity, coloured awareness wristbands are a low-cost but durable solution. Not to mention that they are also an environmentally friendly option when you use our 100% recyclable Tyvek wristbands.
Your awareness campaign and how The Wristband Co. can help
At The Wristband Co., we regularly work with customers planning awareness campaigns of all sizes.
We are happy to assist in any way we can, including helping you find the right wristbands for your campaign. Get in touch with us today on 08 8363 4850 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
You can find out more about our company here.
About the Author
Laura Sayer – Marketing Specialist at The Wristband Co.
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