Bottled vs. Tap: The Business of Water

So after all this talk about plastic water bottles, their cost, their shelf life, and how eco friendly they are you must be wondering how is this such a big industry? Well you might be surprised to know that over the last years the bottled water industry has grown up to 13%. Statistics show that customers are choosing bottled water over soft drinks as a healthier alternative. Is this water that much healthier than tap water though? As mentioned in a previous post, not even close.

In addition, the big names in the bottled water industry are sneakier than you might think. Back in 2003, Poland Spring (owned by Nestle) was sued for false advertising in a class action lawsuit. They had said on their bottle that their water came from springs when in fact it was just heavily treated ground water. In the same case, there was a different water site where they were collecting water found over a former trash dump where fertilizer was sprayed for many years (let that sink in for a bit!). Despite this disgusting discovery Nestle still continue to sell the same Maine water under the Poland Spring name.

More recently, when asked if Nestle could move their operations out of drought stricken California the answer was “absolutely not”. Tim Brown, CEO of Nestle, states that he would actually like to increase the amount of ground source water it uses. Um, is this man delusional? Is anyone else not offended that this foreign company is taking California’s water (or lack there of), bottling it, and then selling it back?

Nestle Waters operates five California bottling facilities, using a total of 705 million gallons of water per year. To put this into perspective, these 705 gallons are equal to what two California golf courses need to survive.

Not all big name companies have been this stubborn though, Starbucks took the socially responsible bait by moving their Ethos bottling company elsewhere. We are still unsure of the effects this will have on the state but I guess it’s the thought that counts. Ethos water is currently sold at $2 a bottle with a nickel from each purchase going to the Ethos Water Fund to support water sanitation in countries around the world. Sort of ironic don’t you think?

So what do you say? Let’s take a stand against these greedy big names! Why not leave bottled water for those who really need it and stop paying for something that we’re lucky enough to have flowing freely from our taps.

– K

Here’s a short video for your visual pleasure as well on how the bottle industry operates, enjoy! http://youtu.be/Se12y9hSOM0