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Awareness ribbons are symbols meant to show support or raise consciousness for a cause. Different colors and patterns are associated with different issues. Awareness ribbons can be worn on clothing like pins, they can be appear on bumper stickers in vehicles, or they can be on arm wristbands, among many other ways. The ribbon is a symbol of awareness and support. Later, during the Gulf War, the symbol evolved into a reminder of all men and women serving the country , in the United States, are used to show that a close family member is abroad in military service. In Russia, Belarus and other countries of the former Soviet Union, gold and black striped ribbons are used to celebrate the Allies' victory in World War II (9 May). In Spain a yellow ribbon became a symbol of solidarity with the 2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis in provisional detention.
Of the uses of ribbons to draw awareness to health issues, perhaps the best-known is the pink ribbon for support of those with breast cancer. Other health and social concerns which have adopted colored ribbons include Alzheimer's disease and pancreatic cancer (purple), HIV/AIDS (red), mental health and mental illness (green), suicide prevention and for brain disorder or disability (silver).
Political use of ribbons include orange ribbons to commemorate the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, blue-yellow ribbons for victims of the Russo-Ukrainian war or general support for Ukraine.
Other ornaments, including flowers (of specific kinds), bracelets, and badges may serve essentially the same purpose of drawing attention to a cause. These include poppies, rosettes and .
In the early 1970s, the song "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" was released. Based on this song, Penney Laingen, wife of Iran hostage Bruce Laingen, was the first who used the ribbons as an awareness symbol. She tied yellow ribbons around trees to express the desire for her husband’s return. Her friends and family members followed the trend. As many individuals were able to see this message, the "ribbon became a medium."
During the 1979–1981 spate of child murders in Atlanta, green lapel ribbons began to be worn to show solidarity. They were of a different form than later awareness ribbons, being typically bow-shaped.
In May 1986, the AIDS Faith Alliance, later known as Christian Action on AIDS, The Times, London, Saturday September 20, 1986, Court and Social held an open conference on AIDS at Notting Hill Gate in London, supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other United Kingdom Christian church leaders. Rainbow Ribbons were given to everybody attending. The purpose of Christian Action on AIDS, an official Church of England charity whose founder/chairman was Barnaby Miln, was to get the worldwide Christian churches involved in the crisis that was AIDS. Christian Action on AIDS folded in 1991.
In 1991, the red ribbon was created by the Visual AIDS Artists Caucus,CNN, "Red ribbon: Celebrating 20 years of the iconic AIDS symbol" a New York–based group of artists and AIDS activists. They wished to create a visual symbol to demonstrate compassion for people living with AIDS and their caregivers. The color red was chosen for its "connection to blood and the idea of passion"—both anger and love. During the 1991 Tony Awards, actor Jeremy Irons wore the bright red ribbon pinned on his chest. Though the symbolism of the ribbon was not allowed to be discussed on air, the media and public noticed the eye-catching ribbon, and its popularity grew overnight. The red ribbon was purposefully not copyrighted in the United States, to allow it to be worn and used widely as a symbol in the fight against AIDS. The year 1992 was declared by The New York Times as "The Year of the Ribbon."
Today the red ribbon is an internationally recognized symbol of AIDS awareness and a design icon. It has led the way for many other color ribbons and awareness projects.
The Unicode character standard has a "reminder ribbon" character (🎗️) at code point U+1F397. No color is specified for it, and platforms vary in its presentation; it can appear yellow, blue, or red depending on the device or software in which it is viewed.
On social media, some users will add visual effects to their user icons as an "awareness_avatar", in a similar way to wearing a physical ribbon.
There are ribbon colors that also associate with animals and organizations that work with animals. The Animal Legal Defense Fund fights for the rights of all animals alike while displaying an orange ribbon. Animal abuse awareness is also well known for its use of the purple ribbon.
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