Custom Rubber Wristbands Made For More than Raising Cancer Awareness

The general appeal of custom rubber wristbands is in the simplicity of their customization. Already, these bracelets have a burgeoning niche as highly effective marketing collaterals, not to mention the similar result they yield when used as tools for fundraising. Custom rubber wristbands have high levels of elasticity from their silicone content’s elastomeric ingredients which make them not only flexible and bendable but also resistant to water. Because of this elastic property, these bracelets are capable of stretching well over the wrists even of individuals with plus-size wrist measurements. Wearing these silicone rubber creations has never been more popular than they are today.

Customization makes the production and the wearing of these silicone rubber bracelets fun as well as socially relevant. Lettering formats can be:

• Embossed – raised letters protrude 2 to 2 ½ millimeters from the bracelet band’s surface. An imprint mold is used to place the letters on the silicone strips;
• Debossed – the opposite of embossed wherein debossed words also go through a molder while placed on the silicone strips;
• Color and debossed – this format type undergoes the same process as the debossed rubber wristbands but differs in the way that the debossed letters are highlighted in either a single color or a fusion of hues; and
• Silk screened – the letters are placed on the silicone’s surface without the imprint mold in a different color from that of the wristband.

Most manufacturers of custom rubber wristbands offer their customers a wide range of colors to choose from, as well as designs and patterns which may or may not be included in the overall design of the wristband. There are options of multicolored, single-colored, color fusions, segmented coloring or marbleized effects depending on customer preference.

Although the silicone bracelets attained their iconic status when cyclist Lance Armstrong gave them out as a wearable symbol for supporting cancer awareness, it has taken other routes to assume other roles. Some use these rubber bracelets to indicate certain allergies or adverse reactions of the wearer in case they are in an emergency situation such as a vehicular accident or bouts of fainting.

In Australia, they are called “ad bangles,” a reference to how these colored rubber wristbands have been used time and again by advertising agencies and marketing companies to get promotional messages across without spending a fortune and yet look “in” and “cool.”

In New York, on advertising row in Madison Avenue, these fancy silicone wristbands have promoted hamburgers, perfume, underwear, furniture, car rentals, art galleries and even seniors’ bingo night. But there’s a more serious side to wearing them. Some of these rubber bracelets are now used as some form of security or accessibility pass by hotels, private swimming pools and beaches, neighborhood communities, wellness facilities and gyms, sporting events, business conferences and even musical concerts. As a supplement to ID cards, some large conglomerate employers have even taken to outfitting their workers with these custom rubber wristbands to distinguish which departments or units their employees belong to.