Still have bottled water as a regular item on the grocery list? Or just pick up the occasional bottle when you’re out? It’s so convenient…
As you probably know, that convenience comes at an environmental and social price: documentaries such as FLOW and Thirst, organizations such as the Sierra Club and Environmental Defense Fund, and even a few of us lowly bloggers, have reported on the costs created by water’s transformation from a freely-available resource to a multi-billion dollar commodity. That bottle of water you buy now contributes to the world’s third-largest industry.
That industry has responded with new packaging designs, and some localities are now taxing, or even banning, bottled water. A new player on the scene, Nika Water, is trying to move a few steps further in greening its bottled water offering. Is it enough? Take a look at what they’re doing.
A green(er) bottled water?
In their press materials, Nika touts a number of “green” efforts, including
- A bottle-for-bottle recycling plan: Nike has pledged that “for every bottle of water that we sell, we will ensure that another empty plastic bottle is recycled…” They plan to accomplish this goal by sponsoring recycling drives at schools in states without container deposit laws, and will pay the schools for each bottle it collects.
- A reduced carbon footprint: The company plans to bottle water at a variety of locations around the country to cut transportation emissions, and also complete a lifecycle assessment of its product’s carbon emissions. It will purchase carbon credits from Carbonfund.org to offset emissions; carbon credit funds will go to a Nicaraguan reforestation project.
- 100% of profits directed to water and sanitation needs in impoverished countries: Nika labels itself a social enterprise, and has organized both for-profit and non-profit arms that funnel the company’s profits to water projects in Kenya, Uganda, Sri Lanka, and Nicaragua
. - A ton of information on the environmental effects of bottled water: Nika’s eco-policy pages provide in-depth slide shows on some of the more troubling environmental issues surrounding the bottled water industry. And they’ve also posted a page of media articles and resources, some of which are very critical of the industry.
You may have trouble calling any bottled water company green (I choke on the combination of those words myself), so rather than simply giving Nika a pat on the back for doing good things (all of these projects certainly seem positive), I ask for your judgment. Is this a sustainable direction for a (at the very least) problematic product? Is it simply a model that can only work if more companies follow Nika’s lead? Or, is it just another attempt to greenwash a unnecessary and costly consumer product? Let us know…
Image courtesy of Nika Water
June 8th, 2009 - 3:02 pm
[...] the rest of this post on bottled water at the Sundance Channel’s SUNfiltered [...]
June 9th, 2009 - 4:44 pm
Looks like the families and companies that bottled water are damned if they and damned if they don’t. Nika (which is not a member company of the International Bottled Water Assn.) is doing its level best to be candid with consumers while providing for their hydration away from the tap. Here, and elsewhere, they are sustaining criticism even after they conform the best they can to the environmentalist agenda. When did green become mean? And where does anyone come-off knocking good hydration? All the major bottled water companies are avid recycling advocates. Now what the rest of the food and hygiene manufacturers who put their product in plastic? Why does criticism of plastic begin and end with bottled water, which is just about the healthiest packaged beverage a person can drink? One more thing: Is anybody anywhere falling for that baloney about bottled water being the world’s third-largest industry??
June 11th, 2009 - 2:57 pm
Our company, in an effort to maintain it’s commitment to social responsibility, has started to offer compostable cups set up next to community water jugs for all of our service projects. The little steps are what count.
June 17th, 2009 - 11:19 am
Tom,
I’ve seen your posts on various other blogs, and you always raise insightful counterpoints in defense of the bottled water industry. We cannot blame the bottled water industry as not being green when the consumers are not recycling the bottles.
Certainly bottled water has its place, and it’s hard to argue with the greener efforts Nika is putting in place.
You’re also right that it’s unfair to criticize the wastefulness of bottled water when other foods and drinks are packaged similarly. There are, however, a few differences here. These foods aren’t sold and used (and hence wasted) to the same degree bottled water is.
But the biggest difference is that, by and large, people already have access to clean water in their homes, thus negating the need for bottled water in the first place. Yes, tap water is not perfect, but with the proper filtration can be every bit as clean and “pure” as most bottled waters.
I hope I don’t come across as attacking your industry, because I think bottled water has its place. But as people recognize the financial and environmental advantages of filtering their tap water, the place for bottled water will grow ever smaller.
June 17th, 2009 - 5:48 pm
Tom — I asked for your opinion, and you gave it… I’m glad you chimed in. I don’t think anything in this post was mean… I gave links to multiple sources that offer criticisms of bottled water, but also laid out all of Nika’s efforts. I think Daniel said it well: “people [in the developed world] already have access to clean water in their homes.” Reusable bottles for that clean water are available and affordable. I’m not necessarily interested in attacking your industry, either… but I don’t think “there are greener options available” is an attack… it’s a fact.
Again, thanks for your comment… and feel free to respond.
June 24th, 2009 - 8:07 pm
Interesting article. Bottled water has become a major convenience across the world. I live in Hong Kong and we consume a lot of water especially in summer. As far as the nika concept is concerned, it looks like a light green marketing trick. PET bottles, if really neeeded, should be recycled in the municipally. Even in Hong Kong at some places its possible to do so. And I agree that we have drinkable water at home, I filter it and use my PET botttle at least several months before throwing it. Mostly its a souvenir from another country, and I am reminded of that location when I drink. At the moment my PET bottle is from China…
I like your blog, cheers, Philine
August 4th, 2009 - 5:50 pm
[...] Bottled water contributes to a host of environmental challenges — you know that. But, let’s face it — bottled water is also incredibly convenient, especially if you’re on the go a lot. A refillable bottle is environmentally preferable, but if you’re out and about, and run out of water, you may also find yourself out of luck in terms of refilling it. [...]