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"It's always blowing my mind that smart/rich people invest time/energy/money in such useless ventures" Consider that they are trying to make money, and from th

"It's always blowing my mind that smart/rich people invest time/energy/money in such useless ventures" Consider that they are trying to make money, and from that premise, they are not 'useless ventures'. All food products are commodities: even cola, energy drinks. Coca Cola, RedBull are by far and away brands more than they are 'good products'. Evian water sells for 30% more than unbranded water, that's the power of brand. From a certain perspective, of course it's useless, because it's just branded water obviously, it's in a way offensive to our sensibilities ... but it's smart. The brand is pretty good. It's a little risky but it almost makes sense. In restaurants, they charge you more for branded water, and they make you feel like a dolt for drinking 'tap water'. They make a lot of money selling it. This is the 'bar' equivalent: you can drink 'tap water' like a broke school kid or have a can of 'liquid death' while your bros drink up. Then you don't look like 'sissy' (or choose your own term if that offends the sensibilities). Obviously it's ridiculous, but that's what consumerism is. I saw this in the news yesterday and immediately flagged it to my marketing friends. It's not a stupid idea.

lenticular 7y ago
It's not that you can't make money off it, it's that this sort of mindless unnecessary consumption has severe social and environmental consequences.
NeedMoreTea 7y ago
In terms of making money from empty marketing, come what may, it probably isn't a stupid idea. In a world that's creaking under extreme pressure from climate, species and forest loss, and so on, it's an utterly reckless and stupid idea. That we have to learn to walk away from. Quite happy to be the uncool kid (a stretch at my age, but hey) drinking tap water, ta. :)
- tarr11 7y ago
  Curious if you’d give up your tea for ecological reasons? (Making some assumptions from your username ;) https://oxfordre.com/environmentalscience/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389414-e-373 https://oxfordre.com/environmentalscience/view/10.1093/acref...
  - NeedMoreTea 7y ago
    On the basis of a very fast skim and the conclusion, their grounds appear to apply to 99% of agriculture. I'd have to give up eating. "However, the tea industry has a high impact on the environment. While being monoculture, it is hub a particular type of fauna, it is ecologically friendly, that is, not harmful to the environment, absorbs greenhouse gases, and supports tea-tourism. However, it also raises certain concerns, including the huge use of pesticides and irrational use of chemical fertilizers." No idea how it compares to coffee, coke, canned water or anything really, but the conclusion implies it may be one of the least-worst options. If it turns out tea was worse than other beverage options, yes I would. We've already made significant changes, and expect to make more - from choice and mandated before my time here is done. :)
  - lenticular 7y ago
    Giving up tea presumably would mean giving up something the poster presumably finds pleasurable. Drinking tap water instead of bottled has no such trade off. There's a big difference between asking people to live like monks and asking them to not consume things that give them little to no value.
Retra 7y ago
So you're saying if I can make money doing something, then it is both ethical and smart?
- matz1 7y ago
  If that is your ethics then yes.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - Retra 7y ago
    What a useless sentiment that is.
    - matz1 7y ago
      Maybe, but that is the reality.
      - Retra 7y ago
        The reality is that truths without relevance are no better than fantasies.
        matz1 7y ago
        How is that not relevant? If making money is part of my ethics, which is for many people (including me) are, then the answer to your original question, is yes it is ethical.
        Retra 7y ago
        I'm not asking if morality is subjective, I'm asking how to reconcile a difference between two moralities. Pointing out that people think differently on such matters is not only obvious, it is something I had to assume before even asking the question. What were you hoping to achieve with your comment?
bluGill 7y ago
While branded water does sell for more, if you look closely you discover that bottled water buyers are not nearly as brand loyal as other drink buyers are (most cola drinkers have tried both Coke and Pepsi and can tell the difference, most water buyers have likewise tried off brands and been unable to tell the difference). Store brand water sells very well in general.

lenticular 7y ago

It's not that you can't make money off it, it's that this sort of mindless unnecessary consumption has severe social and environmental consequences.

NeedMoreTea 7y ago

In terms of making money from empty marketing, come what may, it probably isn't a stupid idea. In a world that's creaking under extreme pressure from climate, species and forest loss, and so on, it's an utterly reckless and stupid idea. That we have to learn to walk away from. Quite happy to be the uncool kid (a stretch at my age, but hey) drinking tap water, ta. :)

tarr11 7y ago
Curious if you’d give up your tea for ecological reasons? (Making some assumptions from your username ;) https://oxfordre.com/environmentalscience/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389414-e-373 https://oxfordre.com/environmentalscience/view/10.1093/acref...
- NeedMoreTea 7y ago
  On the basis of a very fast skim and the conclusion, their grounds appear to apply to 99% of agriculture. I'd have to give up eating. "However, the tea industry has a high impact on the environment. While being monoculture, it is hub a particular type of fauna, it is ecologically friendly, that is, not harmful to the environment, absorbs greenhouse gases, and supports tea-tourism. However, it also raises certain concerns, including the huge use of pesticides and irrational use of chemical fertilizers." No idea how it compares to coffee, coke, canned water or anything really, but the conclusion implies it may be one of the least-worst options. If it turns out tea was worse than other beverage options, yes I would. We've already made significant changes, and expect to make more - from choice and mandated before my time here is done. :)
- lenticular 7y ago
  Giving up tea presumably would mean giving up something the poster presumably finds pleasurable. Drinking tap water instead of bottled has no such trade off. There's a big difference between asking people to live like monks and asking them to not consume things that give them little to no value.

Retra 7y ago

So you're saying if I can make money doing something, then it is both ethical and smart?

matz1 7y ago
If that is your ethics then yes.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Retra 7y ago
  What a useless sentiment that is.
  - matz1 7y ago
    Maybe, but that is the reality.
    - Retra 7y ago
      The reality is that truths without relevance are no better than fantasies.
      - matz1 7y ago
        How is that not relevant? If making money is part of my ethics, which is for many people (including me) are, then the answer to your original question, is yes it is ethical.
        Retra 7y ago
        I'm not asking if morality is subjective, I'm asking how to reconcile a difference between two moralities. Pointing out that people think differently on such matters is not only obvious, it is something I had to assume before even asking the question. What were you hoping to achieve with your comment?

bluGill 7y ago

While branded water does sell for more, if you look closely you discover that bottled water buyers are not nearly as brand loyal as other drink buyers are (most cola drinkers have tried both Coke and Pepsi and can tell the difference, most water buyers have likewise tried off brands and been unable to tell the difference). Store brand water sells very well in general.