Kootenay Knit & Apparel is nearing its goal of raising $30,000 for breast cancer research through the Pink Mitten Ribbon Campaign.
The store is selling pink mittens, with $2 from every pair sold going to the Canadian Cancer Society for breast cancer research and support services. Staff began running the campaign back in February, but the major push for collection happened in October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The store has sold nearly 9,000 pairs of mittens now, and hopes to meet its goal of 10,000 pairs by the end of the year.
The store initially ran the campaign for five years from 2011 to 2015 and revived it this year due to its popularity with retailers and customers.
Marketing manager Shauna Lemens said they're pleased to support the cause, given that breast cancer is something that touches almost every family.
"One in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer. That really affects us all, knowing someone, a family member, a friend," she said. "We've heard a lot of stories that are shared through breast cancer survivors that we've met with through the Canadian Cancer Society."
In the last five years, CCS has invested over $53 million in breast cancer research in Canada. The breast cancer death rate has nearly been cut in half since its peak in 1986, with 89 per cent of women and 76 per cent of men with breast cancer surviving at least five years past the point of diagnosis.
