When I buy an overpriced plastic bottle filled with a liquid I know I could get from my kitchen sink, or at least the Brita pitcher in my fridge, I stop to think about how the bottled water industry has the biggest scam going. And then I shrug and drink it anyway.
If nothing else, at least these companies are now being required to explain where their water comes from. After getting leaned on by a consumer rights organizaton, Aquafina is changing the information on their bottles to explain that their water comes from the same place as tap water. And I bet it won’t even effect sales.
The label on Aquafina water bottles will soon be changed to spell out that the drink comes from the same source as tap water, the brand’s owner said Friday.
A group called Corporate Accountability International has been pressuring bottled water sellers to curb what it calls misleading marketing practices.
Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are now labeled “P.W.S.” The new labels will spell out “public water source.”
The same group is trying to get Dasani to do the same, but the reps there believe that calling their product “purified water” is clear enough.
I could use a Poland Spring right about now.
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Timely post. Also of note is that it’s not very “green” to buy bottled water if you don’t have to. The amount of energy it takes to manufacture (secure the water, create the plastic, transportation, etc.) a single bottle of water would surprise you. Not to mention that most people still don’t recycle as much as they should. Here in boheme SF you get that kind of stuff thrown in your face on a daily. Makes you think 2x before you reach for that bottle of Fiji.
I’ve known for a while now that Aquafina and other company’s water is just purified tap.
After I found that out, I bought a Pur water filter and in college, only purchased gallon jugs of spring water.
Know that too. Thought people were against bottled water because the bottles end up in landfills, exacerbating global warming issues. I actually prefer Dasani and Aquafina to Perrier and Evian..
Haha…all because of the success of Smart Water these companies have to come clean. As long as I don’t see it coming from the faucet and it’s cold and clear, I don’t really care where it comes from.
Smart water used to be good. Now, it’s like tap water. The first time I had it was when the Sam’s Market ran out of Aquafina AND Dasani. I wasn’t about to pay for Evian that tastes dirty, so I got this. I felt so… clean inside afterwards. It was a bit frightening, but after I didn’t die, I realized how good it was and got it a few more times. I then invested in a nalgene bottle and had it again a few weeks ago and it wasn’t even clean tasting.
Depends on where you live. Some cities have decent tap water, like San Francisco. Some cities have tap water that will kill you, like LA. I drink the tap water here, but it took me a couple of months to get over the hang up when I first moved here. It actually doesn’t taste bad.
I’m a native San Franciscan, and I don’t care what Silly Hall, yes that’s what they are most of the time; do because bottled water will still go wherever I go. I’m stubborn and slow to jump on every environmental gimmick haha! At least I recycle as much as possible. Isn’t Dasani tap water from New York or is it just Auquafina? Favorite water in order: Dasani, Volvic (from a volcano in Europe, right; but it’s so refreshing), and Aquafina. I’m so spooked about tap water away from home that I don’t bother drinking it at home.
Environmental gimmick? How about every marketing gimmick? So your favorite bottled water is tap water from NY?
It’s all a scam.
Yeah, I agree on both. Another tidbit is that Dasani is manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. It comes down to the actual taste of the water. There are some subtle differences that I’ve noticed. Of course Evian has an extreme taste, but some bottled water does not have that refreshing feeling that I get from drinking it. It’s probably the sodium or whatever is added for taste.