I think the reason hippies want environmentalism to remain a fringe movement is so they can be the big frogs in a small pond.

the not-so-funny thing about it is that this seems to be a common trend in advertising. instead of doing something new, or something greener, on earth day, a company slaps on a green label and boasts about something they've already been doing, and something that they've been doing for a profit motive, not a green one.

it's good that more people are thinking green, and starting to take small steps. but we need greater change, not small steps that might not even be steps at all.

But it wouldn't be as good for the flu/cold.

I mean, yes, obviously, it can seem ironic. But THE WHOLE POINT of Earth Day was to move environmentalism to the mainstream. So every time you find an example of the idea seeping into the dominant culture, it isn't really ironic. It is an increment of the success of the the entire project.

Ironic would be environmentalists congratulating themselves that they are the only ones hip enough to get it, because that would in fact be failure.

I should also mention that the old condensed Campbell's soup in the small cans is sold alongside a lot of new hippy dippy organic brands in big cans that are not condensed. Campbell's is right to point out that these new products are probably worse for the environment than the old stand by, even if the big cans have branding that oozes the vibe simple, natural, small-scale and local.

But seriously, I can agree with elenchos that yes, this is evidence, however trite it may be, that environmentalism is seeping in to the mainstream. Of course, it comes in the form of hollow corporate sloganeering, but they wouldn't choose this marketing tactic if consumers weren't clamoring for "green" products in the first place.

But again, isn't it hairshirt environmentalism that thinks you have to have suffered in some way before you get any credit for doing good? It's a kind of Catholic guilt or something.

Many good green practices are nothing more than giving up new, complex ways of doing things in favor of simpler methods.

Campbell's does not actually claim they went to some expense here. What their message says is that if you, the consumer, give up the convenience of not adding water to your soup, then you can at least feel like you've done something small to reduce waste and pollution.

I say it is a victory for Earth Day, first and foremost because green sells. Sure, a lot of it is fake, but still, green is a now selling point. And second this will probably influence some people do choose smaller cans, and that can have a large impact when you consider the scale of a huge company like Campbell's. And third, it plants the idea of consuming less packaging by choosing products that are condensed and require you to add water, rather than completely pre-fab convenience products like Lunchables or whatever. None of these things are ironic.

Still, I grant you that it seems ironic.

It could be funny to mock the faux environmentalism of organic non-condensed soup. Their greener-than-thou packaging is a little over the top (and ironic!), if you've seen the soup aisle lately. Harder joke to tell, though.

it's not good that non-green items are being passed off as green. yes, people are trying to buy green (trying change the world without having to change much), but when they buy the same package with a green-colored label, what good have we done? if business sees that they can sell green without being green, we are losing the battle.

it would be like a earth day greeting card. oh.

just donate the money. or donate based on sales. the rest was just annoying.