Fads and Fakes: LiveStrong Bracelets
By Michele Blandino
What started as a way to raise money for cancer research has turned into one of the year's hottest fashion trends.
Originally offered by the Lance Armstrong Foundation for a nominal fee of $1 per bracelet, the yellow LiveStrongTM rubber bracelets are now showing up in convenience stores, specialty shops and even on ebay for several times that amount.
While many of these bracelets are legitimate - that is, they are the very same bracelets manufactured by Nike for the Foundation - there are a fair number of counterfeit versions floating around the marketplace.
Easy to Duplicate
The bracelet's relatively simple design - bright yellow pliable plastic imprinted with the phrase "LiveStrong" makes it easy to replicate. In fact, virtually the only way to distinguish an authentic bracelet from a knockoff is to compare one with the other, paying particular attention to the bracelet's color - the phony ones tend to have a slight orange tint - and the size and shape of the imprinted letters.
A Popular Item
The bracelet made its debut this past summer when Lance Armstrong donned one during his Tour de France ride. They quickly popped up on the arms of celebrities, politicians, and regular people all over the country. So popular are these bracelets, the Foundation website reports that there is a 3-4 week wait for orders to be filled.
To date, over 20 million of these bracelets have been sold through the Lance Armstrong Foundation and authorized retailers such as The Discovery Channel Store, Build-a-Bear Workshops, and Niketown locations. Most of the money raised through the sale of the bracelets has been earmarked for cancer research.
Hoping to capitalize on the bracelet's enormous popularity, some unscrupulous "entrepreneurs" claim to have "rare" or "limited edition" LiveStrongTM bracelets in colors other than yellow. Others simply advertise purple, red, or orange LiveStrongTM bracelets. You can be assured that these are fake; the official LiveStrongTM bracelets are only manufactured in yellow - the color symbolic of hope, courage, inspiration and perseverance.
How to Spot a Fake
Obviously, the best way to ensure your bracelet is authentic and that your purchase benefits the Lance Armstrong Foundation is to buy the bracelet directly from the Foundation's website. The bracelets are available in packages of 10, 100 and 1,200 and sell for $1 each.
Besides the bracelet's color, another way to determine if you are purchasing a legitimate version is to inspect the item's packaging - particularly if you are buying it in a retail outlet. Those coming from the Foundation will bear its name as well as the Nike trademark.
Where to Buy:
Here are the authorized retailers of the LiveStrongTM bracelet:
