| HN Mirror

It was in reply to the comment earlier:

"We live in a society that defines itself not in terms of what it is but in terms of what it's not. We are not decent and kind human beings; we are not racists or not homophobes. We can't just not care; we have to be atheists. Even with bad stuff: We are not victim blamers and choice deniers; we are anti-abortionists. And the products marketed to us are just a reflection of what we are. Gluten-free bread. Sugar-free drinks. Non-hallucinogenic LSD. No THC weed. Low-fat milk. Etc.

Everything is becoming defined in terms of what it's not."

Basically, marketing 101 - don't sell the product, sell what it isn't or what it is. Boxed Water - It's marketed as better, even though it still is a packaged product that has supply chain woes as any product. It's a reflection of what society is, wanting the same product but not wanting to feel "bad" by it.

The above example goes with no THC weed, low fat milk, sugar free drinks, etc. Sugar has calories. Fat is not health. THC is bad but people still want to do weed, etc.

People want water, but they don't want to feel bad. Some people may know about Nestle and how they just rebottle public water, others come in that boxed water is better because there's no plastic, and it's just marketing water in a new way. Lifestyle choice.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-06/is-boxed-...

A big thing about psychedelics, at least back in the day was that it was counter culture. There was The Man which isn't really used anymore. I think the best, newest pop culture usage of it is probably "That 70's show" to the remix "That 90's Show" or, to be seen there anyway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man I can go on, but - the more that psychedelics have/become a place of healing and more scrutinized and legalized, much of the original culture surrounding it is gone. And yes, many arguments are that it is better - proven results, proven research, trusted supply chain of chemicals to consume, no need to hide getting help if needed, not being penalized legally, not being criminalized, etc.

Which comes around to boxed water. Per the bloomberg article there several quotes:

"The name is not just fitting, it's precise. As much as the company is selling water, it's also selling boxes, or rather, selling its customers on paper over plastic. "

""Definitely a water company," says Jeremy Adams, vice-president for marketing at Boxed Water Is Better, when I ask him whether Boxed Water is a paper company."

"While bottled water is easily the most wasteful indulgence in the first world, it's also not going anywhere. Convenience water is a $24 billion market in the U.S., where more than 1 billion plastic water bottles are shipped annually."

"Sure, Boxed Water is selling people on a lifestyle product that everyone should rely on way less. But Boxed Water Is Better may in fact be an improvement on bottled water. Not just in terms of sustainability, but in the way that a highly disposable product is produced, packaged, and shipped."

All that, itself fits the original comment I replied too: "We live in a society that defines itself not in terms of what it is but in terms of what it's not."

Back to the article which has this nugget I'm re-quoting: "While bottled water is easily the most wasteful indulgence in the first world, it's also not going anywhere. "

That. That's what it means.