The unusual pins people are wearing at the International AIDS Conference aren’t just for looks, says Franck DeRose, executive director of The Condom Project.
They are made out of condoms and scraps of colorful paper as a way to make people more comfortable about condom use in countries where they are considered taboo, Reuters reported.
DeRose said in many countries in areas like Africa and Asia, condom use is discouraged by customs that associate its use with prostitution or promiscuity.
To battle such notions, the organization has begun a program that allows people to create their own pins and brooches made of condoms, paper and double-sided tape.
So far, the program has decorated 400,000 condoms, turning them into pins in a number or countries such as India, Thailand, Senegal and other parts of Asia.
Already, the pins have received a positive response from many at the conference, DeRose said. At the conference alone, 30,000 pins have been created and are being distributed to attendees.
DeRose, who is an artist based in Washington D.C., came up with the idea in 2003 when he was discussing ways to battle cultural mores against the use of condoms.
