Different colored wristbands have become a popular way for people to show support for various causes or represent different meanings. The tradition of wearing colored wristbands grew in popularity in the early 2000s with the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s iconic yellow Livestrong wristbands. Since then, wristbands in all colors of the rainbow have taken on a variety of significant meanings.
History of Color Coded Wristbands
The wristband trend is believed to have started in the 1970s whenicone bracelets became popular fashion accessories. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s and early 2000s that wearing silicone wristbands became widespread, largely due to Lance Armstrong and his yellow Livestrong bracelets.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong launched the Livestrong campaign in 1997 after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. The bright yellow wristbands were sold to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which supported cancer research. The Livestrong wristbands became immensely popular, with over 80 million sold. This cemented the wristband as a way to show support and raise awareness for causes.
After the success of Livestrong bracelets, many other charities and causes started producing wristbands in different colors to represent their own missions. Wristbands took on meaning not just for causes and charities, but also to symbolize medical conditions, pop culture slogans, political movements, and personal beliefs.
Nowadays, wristbands come in every color imaginable and have expanded from just silicone or rubber to include materials like leather, plastic, bead, and metal. The color coded wristband trend continues to be an easy, visible way for people to display what’s important to them.
Meanings of Common Color Coded Wristbands
Here are some of the most common wristband colors and what they represent:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Supporting heart health/cardiovascular disease, HIV/AIDS awareness, stroke awareness |
| Pink | Breast cancer awareness and support |
| Blue | Supporting colon cancer, epilepsy, bullying prevention, prostate cancer |
| Purple | Alzheimer’s disease, pancreatic cancer, animal abuse prevention |
| Orange | Leukemia, hunger, cultural diversity |
| Yellow | Supporting our troops, cancer (all types), suicide prevention |
| Green | Organ donation, kidney cancer, environmental causes |
| Black | Mourning, melanoma skin cancer |
Some other popular colored wristbands include:
- White: Bone cancer support
- Gray: Diabetes, brain cancer, asthma
- Silver: Child loss awareness
- Gold: Childhood cancers
- Teal: Ovarian cancer
- Lime green: Lyme disease
- Burgundy: Multiple sclerosis
- Turquoise: Lupus awareness
Wristbands for Medical Alerts and Disabilities
In addition to causes and chronic illnesses, colored wristbands are also used to identify important medical conditions and disabilities. These wristbands serve as a subtly visible alert for doctors, emergency responders, and anyone else who interacts with the wearer. Some common examples include:
| Color | Medical Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Drug allergies |
| Green | Insulin dependent diabetes |
| Orange | Hearing impairment |
| Blue | Asthma or COPD |
| Purple | Do not resuscitate order |
| Yellow | Fall risk |
Wristbands for medical purposes usually contain a symbol or text further explaining the condition. Red allergy bands may list the specific allergen. Diabetes bands often say “Insulin Dependent.” Hearing impairment bands display the international symbol for deafness. There are also wristbands that alert to conditions like autism, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and more.
Supporting Causes and Beliefs
Colored wristbands continue to be a popular way to visually show support for any number of causes, beliefs, or movements. These are some of the common meanings behind wristbands not related to health:
- Red – AIDS awareness, love, “Support Our Troops”
- Pink – Anti-bullying
- Blue – Justice, peace, child abuse prevention, anti-tobacco
- Green – Recycling, ecology, Earth Day
- Orange – Hunger, cultural diversity, leukemia
- Black – Mourning, formal events
- White – Worn by referees/umpires
- Rainbow – LGBTQ pride and support
These wristbands allow wearers to silently communicate beliefs to others. The colored bands have become popular accessories at events supporting various causes.
Fashion and Pop Culture Wristbands
Of course, colored wristbands are also still worn as fun fashion statements without deeper meaning. Pop culture has adopted the wristband in unique ways:
- Blue – Beyonce concert wristbands
- Purple – Disney MagicBand wristbands
- Red – Lollapalooza wristbands
- Neon colors – 1980s style accessory
- Varied colors – Festival wristbands
There are no set meanings for wristbands in specific pop culture contexts like music festivals, concerts, theme parks, and more. The color just identifies the wearer as belonging to that particular event or venue.
Do-It-Yourself Wristbands
With so many color coded meanings, people now enjoy creating their own custom wristbands to represent whatever is important to them. Iron-on vinyl allows you to decorate blank wristbands with words, symbols, patterns, and colors.
DIY wristband materials include:
- Plain silicone bands
- Adjustable vinyl bands
- Snap or button bands
- Slap bracelets
Then you can use iron-on vinyl, permanent markers, paint, rhinestones, beads, embroidered patches, and more to customize your bands. Get creative with color and design to make wristbands that express your personal passions!
Conclusion
From causes to fashion statements, color coded wristbands continue to hold significance as a simple way to display beliefs, medical needs, pop culture fun, or support for an issue important to the wearer. The wristband trend that took off in the early 2000s with Livestrong is still going strong today. People of all ages, backgrounds, and interests use these wearable symbols to express themselves.
