Difference Between Orange Awareness Ribbon & Green Awareness Ribbon

Awareness ribbons exist in nearly every color.

The use of ribbons to raise awareness or honor a loved one dates all the way back to the days of Shakespeare. Today we have awareness ribbons in every color of the rainbow, supporting causes as wide-ranging as finding a cure for cancer and bringing an end to chain emails. Green and orange ribbons each represent multiple causes.

Green

Green ribbons can be used to raise awareness for issues in several categories. Probably the most widely-recognized meanings for green ribbons are causes associated with the environment, such as Save the Earth, go green, and recycling campaigns. Green ribbons are also intended to raise support for mental illnesses like depression and bipolar disorder. Organ and tissue donation, kidney cancer, cerebral palsy, Tourette syndrome and missing children are few other possible meanings for green awareness ribbons.

Orange

Orange ribbons support recovery from addictions and self injury. They also raise awareness for reflex sympathetic dystrophy, MS, skin cancer and deep vein thrombosis. Other causes orange awareness ribbons represent include work zone safety, motorcyclist safety, Jewish settlement of Israel, racial tolerance, and feral cats.

Combination

A combination green and orange ribbon represents individuals who have been ritually abused or who have a dual diagnosis.

Variations

Mint, teal, turquoise, lime, copper and other variations of orange and green have different meanings. See the reference section for a full listing.

References

• MD Junction: Awareness Ribbons
• Crafts N Scraps: Awareness Ribbons and Their Meanings
• Prick and Stitch Is My Craft: A brief history of awareness ribbons and their colours