Illustration of a factory and smoke surrounded by a red circle with a line across it with a grey outer edge with white text

This slogan has been used by different groups, including environmental, conservation, and anti-nuclear testing. Another popular version of the mantra is “Everyone Lives Downstream” and symbolizes the ideal that everything in nature is connected and the actions of one can have a deep impact on many. Oftentimes, homes that are located in neighborhoods downwind from factories or plants sell for less as their location is perceived as undesirable or risky. Environmental groups use this slogan to bring attention to the fact that no matter where facilities dump waste or engage in testing, they will affect the people and wildlife in the surrounding area because toxins will eventually drift toward populated areas.

Red and black text on a white background

This button quotes lyrics from the 1970 song ‘War’, recorded by Edwin Starr. The song, which rose to number one on the Billboard charts, was written in protest of the Vietnam War. Since then, it has remained a popular protest song. This button was designed by Margery Cohen to encourage and promote peace.

White text on a green background

The Peace Project was founded in Northern California in 1982. Their mission is for world peace, social justice, and ecological harmony. Initially starting with nuclear disarmament, the group expanded to issues involving Central and South America, problems of globalism, and George W. Bush.

Brown text around the outer edge on a white background with a peace sign made of food in the center

This button was made for The Progressive Animal Welfare Society, or PAWS. PAWS is a foundation that helps rehabilitate injured and orphaned wildlife, shelter and adopt homeless cats and dogs, and educate people to make a better world for animals and people. The organization is still an active foundation. They promote “going veggie,” which encourages people to abstain from buying and eating meat products, even if it is for only a couple of days or weeks. PAWS expresses that they want people to try eating like a vegetarian as a way to contribute to reducing both farm animal suffering and reducing the impact on the environment for the benefit of animal.  

Illustration of an American flag in the shape of an eagle with blood dripping from its feet and a white dove underneath on a black background

The white dove on the button symbolizes peace and the eagle is the bird that most often symbolizes the United States. The blood on the dove and dripping from the talons of the eagle symbolizes the U.S. attacking/killing peace. The imagery supports the idea that the U.S. deliberately acts in opposition of peace and could be related to anti-war and anti-military sentiment.

Illustration of an American flag in the shape of an apple

This button was most likely created to promote the purchase of apples grown in the United States. 

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White and yellow text on a blue background

Illustration of a black and white ship in blue water with figures of people in it and red text along the top outer edge on a white background

"Ship of State" was originally used in an 1850 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, praising the strength and flexibility of the American government. The phrase was later used by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a note to Winston Churchill in 1941. The phrase today has a similar meaning, and has sometimes been used to question or praise the stability of governments. 

Illustration of a hand grabbing barbed wire with white text above and below the image

The quote on this button is attributed to author George Orwell and many people believe that it is from his most famous novel 1984; however, this quote does not appear anywhere in the novel or in any of his other works. Currently, there is no substantive evidence that he wrote or said this quote. The quote was attributed to Orwell in its earliest known appearance in 1982 and evolved into a handful of variants. The origin is unclear, but it is possible that the statement began as a proposed summary of Orwell’s position, and it was later incorrectly converted to a quotation.

Illustration of a yellow t-shirt with red text on it surrounded by a black circle with a line across it on a white background with red, yellow and black text

This button is most likely related to the student anti-sweatshop movement which really started to gain momentum in the late 1990s as it moved westward from East Coast colleges and universities, eventually encompassing more than 100 campuses across the country. Students protested the fact that multinational apparel corporations were making huge profits selling clothes with college names and logos, while they persistently violated the rights of garment workers who made the products. Protesters worked to force schools to require basic worker rights standards of all the corporations producing school apparel. The anti-sweatshop movement was the largest wave of student activism to hit campuses since students rallied to free Nelson Mandela.