There are a lot of awareness ribbons — trust us, we spent a lot of time putting together this list — and it can be challenging to know which colors are associated with which causes.
Fortunately, we’ve got your back. At Good Good Good we’re all about celebrating the good being done in the world — and helping people make a difference in the world.
And bringing awareness to important issues is a part of both of those!
Variations of awareness ribbons have been used since the middle ages — but they gained significant popularity in the early 1900s when yellow ribbons were given to U.S. soldiers. Yellow ribbons continued their cultural influence in the 1970s, with the rise of the international hit song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.” Since then, awareness ribbons have been used to represent hundreds of causes — most notably pink awareness ribbons for breast cancer and red awareness ribbons for HIV/AIDS.
In this article, we’re specifically diving into what yellow awareness ribbons mean and what causes they represent:
What do different yellow ribbons mean?
Yellow ribbons are most commonly used to show support for active duty U.S. military troops — though they’re also commonly used for suicide prevention awareness, missing children awareness, liver disease awareness, and other causes.
Yellow
- Adenosarcoma
- Adoptive Parents
- Alternative Medicine
- Australian National Road Safety Week
- Bladder Cancer
- Bone Cancer
- Canadian Cancer Society
- Canadian Military Support
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
- Childhood Cancer Awareness Day
- Craniofacial Acceptance
- Cuban Five
- Dog Bite Prevention
- Endometriosis
- Equality
- Ewing’s Sarcoma
- Fire Services in Queensland, Australia
- Gulf War
- Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Protests Support
- Hydrocephalus
- Support for Hostages During Iranian Hostage Crisis
- Liver Cancer
- Liver Disease
- Livestrong
- Press Freedom in Malaysia
- Medal of Honor in Japan
- MIA / Missing in Action
- Microcephaly
- Military Service
- Missing Children
- Missing Persons
- Myxoid Liposarcoma
- Obesity
- Operation Yellow Ribbon in Canada
- Original HIV/AIDS Ribbon
- Osteosarcoma
- POW / Prisoners of War
- Refugees Welcome
- Resistance Movement in Russian-occupied Parts of Ukraine
- Sarcoma
- Save Albert Park in Australia
- Sinking of Dong Fang Zhi Xing in China
- Sinking of South Korean Ferry MV Sewol
- Spina Bifida
- Suicide Awareness
- Suicide Prevention
- The Disappeared
- U.S. Military Support
- Yellow Ribbon Project in Singapore
- Yellow September in Brazil
Red & Yellow
- Hepatitis C
- HIV/HCV Co-Infection
- Surviving Family Members of Someone Who Died By Suicide
Purple & Yellow
- Autoimmune Hepatitis
- Chemical Injury and Lupus
- Endometriosis
Blue & Yellow
- Designated Drivers
- Down Syndrome
- Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus
- Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
- Ukraine
Pink, Blue, & Yellow
- Pansexual Pride
Red, Blue, & Yellow
- Trisomy
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are MLB teams wearing yellow awareness ribbons on their uniforms?
On September 3, 2023, MLB players across the league wore yellow ribbons and gold wristbands in honor of the MLB’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Day. As a part of the MLB Together platform, teams are showing support for the fight against childhood cancer.
Ready to learn more about awareness ribbons and their meanings?
We’ve collected, curated, and organized hundreds of awareness ribbon colors and their meanings. You can dive into the meaning of every color under the rainbow (plus rainbow ribbons themselves) in our guide to awareness ribbon color meanings.
