Bicycle Wristband
Custom Wristbands Have Become a Fundraising and Awareness Phenomenon by Andrew McBride
Custom wristbands have been a worldwide sensation for several years. A simple band of silicone has become an internationally recognized way to show support for a cause, declare a political affiliation, root for the home team or show one’s determination to live life to the fullest.
Custom wristbands are popular in part because of their low cost. They are so inexpensive to produce that the bands can be sold as a fund-raising product that makes both children and adults happy. Custom wristbands can be sold at a price low enough for just about anyone to afford, yet still yield a high profit margin per each custom wristband sold.
American bicycle racer Lance Armstrong is the man responsible for the custom wristband’s worldwide ubiquity. In partnership with athletic shoe maker Nike, he created the yellow “Livestrong” custom wristband in 2004. The band serves to raise awareness of cancer diagnosis, treatment and impact, and raise funds for Armstrong’s educational foundation.
Armstrong was diagnosed on Oct. 2, 1996 with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. After being given an approximately 40 percent chance of survival, Armstrong underwent surgery and a grueling chemotherapy regimen. He was training again for the Tour de France by 1998, his cancer in remission.
Armstrong won the Tour de France, the world’s most prestigious bicycle race, for the first time in 1999, and went on to accomplish six more victories in the annual event, a world record.
In 2004, Armstrong and Nike introduced the “Livestrong” custom wristband. The yellow color represents the yellow jersey traditionally worn by the leader of the Tour de France.
The simple debossed custom wristband with the word Livestrong pressed into it quickly became a sensation. The bands sell for $1 each to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which supports cancer patients and works to raise cancer awareness. The cycling world, and later, athletes competing in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, adopted the yellow custom wristbands.
The custom wristband naturally appeals to people’s desire to be part of a group. People want to be a part of something beyond themselves. The custom wristband says “I support this cause, just like many other people.”
Armstrong’s reputation helped promote the yellow custom wristbands, which soon became an established fashion trend in America and around the world. Other organizations copied the idea, producing custom wristbands in different colors for their own causes.
Some of the colors and the causes custom wristbands represent include: pink for breast cancer, green for kidney donation, blue (or red) for diabetes, white for the British “Make Poverty History” program, and ocean blue and white for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
Custom wristbands also have become a way to denote political affiliations, with bands in traditional Democratic blue and Republican red. The U.S. recession has even prompted some to use custom wristbands to announce they’re looking for work. A yellow custom wristband with “I need a job” in black ink lets potential employers know an individual is available for hire.
For the foreseeable future, custom wristbands are likely to continue to be a fund-raising tool, fashion accessory and political statement. Low minimum order quantities, discount pricing and a high acceptance factor make custom wristbands an ideal fund-raising or team-boosting product.
About the Author
Direct Wristbands is the industry leader in custom wristbands design and production. The company produces custom wristbands in a variety of sizes, colors and styles to suit any occasion.
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