The orange ribbon is a symbol adopted for a very wide variety of uses.
- The orange ribbon represents the humanity against extreme software patents and software piracy. There are several threats against Open Source projects that we need to protect. We need support software freedom overall. Richard Stallman, the creator of GNU General Public License believes that free software talks about freedom, rather than about price. His ideas go a long way into ensuring development of software for the welfare of society, collectively developed by programmers who do not “lock up” their work, but rather release it for others to study, modify and redistribute. Stallman is aware about the danger of software patents. In fact this is one of the most important aspect of the freedom of programming because the aspect of software patents may make all programmers potential lawbreakers because unknowingly they may be violating some of the patents registered by some other company.
- The orange ribbon is worn as a symbol representing Harmony Day, coinciding with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The ribbon shows awareness of Racial Tolerance, or Cultural Diversity
- The orange ribbon also shows awareness of human rights in Tibet, leukemia, feral cats, motorcyclist safety, Multiple Sclerosis,melanoma, Agent Orange exposure, Hunger Awareness, Lupus, Deep Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month and the Kidney Cancer Association (adopted the color orange to protect it and the words "kidney cancer" as part of our registered trademark). "home page".website. Kidney Cancer Association. 2008-07-04.
- It is also the symbol for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), also referred to as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
- In Italy Marathon winner Marija Vrajic (CRO) and 1060 other participants of the Night Marathon in Jesolo & Cavallino Treporti on the 7th of June 2008, wore an orange ribbon for Human Rights in Tibet.
- In Austria on the 18 May 2008 at the Austrian Woman's Run 3000 woman were running with an orange ribbon in support of human rights in Tibet. On the 27th of April 2008 at the Vienna City Marathon 2300 athletes were wearing an orange ribbon in support for human rights in Tibet. The Initiative Go Orange for Tibet aims to encourage sportsmen to highlight human rights violation in Tibet before, during and after the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing through an orange ribbon.
- It is a symbol of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution of 2004. The orange color denotes the color of the opposition party of Viktor Yushchenko. (Ribbons are common symbols of non-violent protest.)
- In Israel, orange ribbons indicate opposition to the Israel "disengagement" plan of 2004 (blue ribbons indicate support). The color was adopted by disengagement opponents on advice from Adir Zik. Although the disengagement was executed in 2005, supporters continue to use the color as a symbol of general opposition to further withdrawals. Often written on the post-Disengagement ribbons is the phrase "לא נשכח ולא נסלח" ("we will not forget and we will not forgive").
- In Australia, orange ribbons were worn on Fridays in support of the release of Australian citizen David Matthew Hicks during his detention in Guantanamo Bay for 5 years without charge. It was originally an initiative called 'Orange Fridays' supported by Amnesty International, demanding that David Hicks be returned to Australia to face a fair trial or be released.
- In the United States, the orange ribbon shows support for the ACLU Close Guantánamo Campaign. In the San Francisco Bay Areaactivist group Act Against Torture uses it as part of their campaign to close Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. detention facilities, in reference to the orange jumpsuits which detainees are made to wear.
- At county and state fairs in the United States, an orange ribbon is awarded to the competitor finishing in sixth place in a contest.
- A reflective orange ribbon is used by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation to promote work zone safety awareness, and to honor roadway construction workers who have died at work.
- In Canada, orange ribbons are worn as an awareness ribbon symbolizes Addiction Recovery. Addiction is defined to include ANY “uncontrolled compulsive use” or compulsive obsessive behavior that makes life unmanageable. The campaign was launched on October 1, 2004 by the non-profit group R.A.F.T. for their first “Walk for Recovery”. It has since been adopted by a number of other support groups who battle addictions.
- In Canada, orange ribbons are worn to support the New Democratic Party candidate Nicolas R. Thibodeau in Mount Royal. The Orange Ribbon Foundation concern is to support Integrity, Democracy, Equality, Environment and Security in the political ring. The campaign was launched on January 23, 2007 when he was reinvestited a year after his first attempt to represent Mount royal constituents.
- In the province of New Brunswick in Canada, orange ribbons are worn in response to the New Brunswick government's plan to sell many of the assets of New Brunswick Power (NB Power) to Hydro-Québec. The ribbons serve many purposes including making the public aware of the proposed sale, and making the government aware of the public opposition to the deal.
- An orange ribbon or orange-and-white ribbon is an awareness ribbon for Self Injury Awareness Day (SIAD) (March 1). SIAD promotes awareness and support of those people who self harm. They were formerly colored red, blue and black.
- In Sweden, the orange ribbon was the common symbol for a change of government in the national election in September 2006. The orange ribbon is an initiative from The Young Conservatives, The Young Liberals, The Young Christian-Democrats and The Young Center.
- In Botswana, the National Association for the Preservation of the Botswanan Mongoose uses an orange ribbon as the symbol for its annual fund-raising competition, held amongst children under the age of 15.
- In Singapore, the orange ribbon is promoted as a symbol of racial and religious harmony. It is also used to show support for the independent music scene.
- In the United States, the orange ribbon has been officially registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as the Animal Guardian Ribbon, a symbol used to raise public awareness of at-risk animals. The Animal Guardian Ribbon was created in 2003 by Rational Animal, a nonprofit media animal advocacy group in conjunction with the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City’s Animals. At-risk animals are defined as those “non-human animals who suffer from neglect or abuse or whose very lives and well-being are in jeopardy.
