Wristband Rainbow

Don't have anything to wear with yellow? Then maybe you—like everyone else—should buy one of the ubiquitous LiveStrong awareness wristbands, launched by the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Nike last May to raise money for cancer research. The bright yellow, $1 rubber bracelets have become a fashion icon, adorning the wrists of more than 21 million people worldwide, from actress Pamela Anderson to U.S. presidential candidate John Kerry. Numerous other charities are now following suit with wristbands of their own—so many that the number of causes has surpassed the available colors, requiring some shades to do double duty. Green wristbands, for example, support both leukemia research and the legalization of marijuana. A guide to the colors on offer and the causes they represent:

"SHARING THE PROMISE"
Raising awareness for the U.S.-based Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

"WORTH WAITING FOR"
Singapore's Focus on the Family sexual-abstinence program

"SOMEONE YOU KNOW HAS LUPUS"
Lupus Foundation of America

"WE CAN—WE WILL—WE MUST"
Supporting the 941-km San Francisco-to-Los Angeles AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride to raise money for needy HIV/AIDS patients

"MAKE POVERTY HISTORY"
The U.K.'s Tearfund Christian charity, fighting poverty in Africa

"STAND UP, SPEAK UP"
An initiative by Nike, worn twinned with a white bracelet to combat racism in European soccer

"SAVE THE CHILDREN"
Sold by the namesake charity and 7-Eleven stores to aid children affected by the Dec. 26 tsunami