Treehugger - Latest Comments in Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

StraitInto — Sat, 08 May 2010 21:53:47 -0000

Bottled water is not JUST bottled water. We have the bad (modified tap water by Pepsi Cola and others) and the better (esker water collected in nature). However the more urgent problem is TAP WATER. Never mind the "life cycle" or "greenest" of water, think about all the nasty chemicals in municipal tap water. YUCK !!! They even add stuff to it like fluorid. Not to mention the pesticides, hormones, ozone, endorcine disruptors and ohhh yes chlorine. Do I drink the better choice of bottle water? You bet! Is it the best solution? NO. In a perfect world municipal water would not be poisonous and we could all have a socialist drink. Not going to happen; the agenda is not planned for your survival. Municipal water is not green it's eugenics.

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

Trev — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:50:30 -0000

There's a huge difference between:

(a) bottles of water and jugs of water

and also,

(b) countries with distilleries (or factories) and countries w/o.

(a) if you need to buy water, then buy in bulk, like Arrowhead in those HUGE jugs and get your water that way.

Also, back to basics, boiling water isn't so bad... though you'd have to commit some time to process

(b) Foreign countries don't always have the luxuries of getting water delivered. Boiling works. I'd love to help a company create small scale water fountains (companies that would sell water to locals). I read about one in the newspaper...

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

John — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:44:47 -0000

Another thought I had is will this "new lighter plastic" leach more estrogen into the water. From the research I have done lower grade plastics seem to leach more. And just from connecting the dots, lower grade plastic is often lighter then a higher grade plastic.

But I guess it makes no differance to me as I sit in my office drinking tap water out of my Sigg

A question I have to the people that buy bottled water because thier tap water is no good would be why not do a the big plastic jug thing that is reusable (I think its on a deposite system in most places) then get a hand pump for the top so your not wasting energy using a standard water colour. I mean it would be cheeper, it is in a higher grade plastic, so most likely less estrogen leachage. I would think that is a better way to go.

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

Mark — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:41:52 -0000

This is every product on every shelf of every big box retailer. I'm tired of hearing about water. Personally, I distill tap water (with wind energy) because tap water sucks. It is full of toxins. Hello? Your health? If I couldn't distill or filter my own, I'd buy it in bottles. TH suggests poisoning my family instead, but I'll pass. This with an article about environmental justice on the same day, and telling FEMA to take responsibility for knowingly putting others in harm's way. Time to walk the walk, TH. Do you want your minion to drink bleach or not? How about fluoride? yum. And be sure to drink out of aluminum, we don't want you to remember who to sue.

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

TC — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:26:53 -0000

The fuzzy water color picture of some utopian landscape and the same old hollow statements by a PR-writer are so incredibly yesterday and soulless that I would highly recommend GE to get its act together and step into the 21st century. Green is more than that wash.

Plastic water remains a rich world's luxury-waste with the poor ones paying the most in the end. But instead of blaming the big evil companies, we all here in the rich world should live by example and limit our plastic water consumption to a minimum. We need no new snazzy packaging. Get out your Sigg or Nalgene or simply refill the good ol' water bottle!

Or get this: I am actually drinking out of a glass!!!

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

Garry M. — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:51:54 -0000

I agree with everything said above, the whole thing is a travesty. Still, I buy 3-4 gallons of bottled water every week. Why? My tap water is contaminated. It's mostly a city problem (I live in a formerly industrial zone) and partially a plumbing problem (trying to clean up our building pipes has been a difficult challenge).

When it comes down to it, I'd rather buy water than get cancer from the benzene in my tap that my elected officials and the companies whose waste caused the problem in the first place keep fighting over whose fault it is and refuse to clean up.

I hate to say it but I'm a part of the problem.

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

Garry M. — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:51:07 -0000

I agree with everything said above, the whole thing is a travesty. Still, I buy 3-4 gallons of bottled water every week. Why my tap water is contaminated. It's mostly a city problem (I live in a formerly industrial zone) and partially a plumbing problem (trying to clean up our building pipes has been a difficult challenge).

I hate to say it but I'm a part of the problem.

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

Dan A — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:50:17 -0000

People must remember that the problem isn't with bottled water per say, but with bottled drinks in general. People shouldn't give up bottled water for bottled soda, and in some cases bottled water is the only choice depending on the circumstance. When possible one should chose tap water over bottled water, but bottled water doesn't need to be eliminated.

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

JL — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:25:30 -0000

Actually, there is an exception. In countries where civil authorities have not been able to maintain a proper public water supply, tap water poses a very definite health risk and needs to be avoided.

As I recall, Italy has both a solid waste management crisis (mob influenced true, but my point remains) and a potable water supply safety issue. One problem of course contributes to the other - leaching landfills affect drinking water. This may well account for why Italy among developed nations has the highest per capita bottle water consumption. THey need it. Sadly.

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

John Rathwell — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:17:40 -0000

I can not stand this environmentally friendly bandwagon of major companies saying they are "environmentally friendly". The only reason they do it is because they can see this great revolution of environmentalism and are trying to take advantage of it by saying "eco" or what ever word just as a marketing scam.

If Cott actually cared a little bit he would stop bottling water, and tell everyone to fill up their glass cup with delicious tap water.

Re: Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:11:22 -0000

Nice post. We have added it to our green blog round-up. please add My Green Element to the treehugger blog roll.

www.mygreenelement.com