In 1969, the Environmental Action for Survival Committee at the University of Michigan started selling pinback buttons with the slogan “Give Earth a Chance,” a play on the popular anti-war slogan “Give Peace a Chance.” Newsweeks’ 1970 article, “The Ravaged Environment” noted the popularity of these buttons, suggesting they were the symbol of the Age of Conservation.  These buttons, alongside buttons featuring the ecology symbol, the peace symbol, and more, reflected the solidarity of the 20 million demonstrators during the first Earth Day march on April 22, 1970.

While George B. Adams is credited as the inventor of celluloid pinback buttons, there is another important inventor to discuss, one who has historically been relegated to a single line in celluloid pinback button history, Amanda M. Lougee.