Apple adds Earth Day fitness badge to Apple Watch

Just a couple of days after releasing its new NikeLab version of the Apple Watch, Apple is leveraging the device's reputation as a fitness tool to join in the Earth Day festivities.

Early Saturday, Apple CEO Tim Cook posted a photo of a new special edition achievement badge on the Apple Watch designed to get people outside and active.

"Get outside, enjoy our planet and complete a 30-minute workout today," said Cook on Twitter.

If you open the Apple Watch-associated Activity app, you'll now see a badge that comes with a message dedicated to Earth Day.

"Get outside and celebrate Earth Day on April 22 and earn this award," reads the app message. "Go for a walk, run, cycle, wheelchair, or swim workout of 30 minutes or more in the Workout app in any third party app that writes these workouts to Health. You will also earn special stickers for Messages."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Awesome.

But while I consider myself a fairly dedicated Apple Watch user, specifically for fitness, I just don't pay much attention to the badges. Yes, the badges are well-designed, and can often come as a nice surprise when you hit an activity milestone, but in reality, it took a while for me to even take the activity rings seriously as a indication of my workout progress. The badges? Barely ever notice them.

Regardless, the badges remain a great marketing tool to pull non-Apple Watch owners into the Apple Watch ecosystem, even if they eventually forget about the badges.

Oh, and the prominent Earth Day reminder is a good look for any company still struggling to clean up its own environmental profile.