The IMRE Journal Volume 3 (1) 2009
2009. TU Bergakademie Freiberg
http://www.wiwi.tu-freiberg.de/~urm/imre/journal/index.htm
‘Back to the Tap’: a Global Battle against Bottled Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
Technische Universität Bergakademie
Freiberg
Correspondence:
tsaihuiju@gmail.com
Abstract
The global bottled water industry has been enjoying great prosperity in the past
decade. In 2007, world consumption of bottled water totaled 188 billion liters, with an
average annual growth rate of 8.8% from 1997 to 2007. Total revenues of the global
bottled water market was $US 66.6 billion in 2007, representing a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2% for the period 2003-2007. However, while the industry
has been expanding at a high speed, a „Back to the Tap‟ movement against bottled
water developed in Northern America, Europe and other developed countries in recent
yeras. City governments, high-class restaurants, schools, and religious groups urge to
ditch bottled water and encourage people to drink the public water from the faucet.
Environmentalists condemn bottled water as wasteful and even immoral. Bottled water
has been seen as an „Eco-sin‟. This article aims to give an insight into this issue. The
stands of the protests, consumer views and bottling companies are analyzed and
commented. Measures to be taken are further discussed. Finally, the potential new
markets that might emerge under the „anti-bottled water‟ trend are explored.
Keywords: Bottled water industry, PET bottles, energy consumption,
water management
Introduction
The global bottled water market has been expanding rapidly in the past
decade (See Figure 1). In 2007, world consumption of bottled water
stood at a total of 188 billion liters, more than double (80 billion) in
1997. The consumption volume has grown fast from 1997 to 2007, with
an average annual growth rate of approximately 8.8%. Between 1998
and 2003, the average annual growth rate exceeded 10%. The total
revenues of the global bottled water market equaled $US 66.6 billion in
2007, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2% for
the period 2003-2007 (See Figure 2). The market has expanded in all
regions. The United States is the world‟s leading consumer of bottled
water. In 2007, Americans drank almost 33 billion liters (See Figure 3).
Revised: 16.06.2009
Online Publication Date: 30.10.2009
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Figure 1: Global bottled water consumption and annual growth
rate, 1997-2007. Data sources: 1997-2003: Gleick et al., 2009,
and 2004-2007: Beverage Marketing Corporation, 2008, in
International Bottled Water Association (IBWA)
Figure 2: Global bottled water market value: $US billion, 20032007. Source: Datamonitor, 2008
Mexico has the second highest consumption with 22
billion liters. China exceeded Brazil in 2004 and has
become the third biggest country for bottled water
consumption since then, consuming 18 billion liters in
2007. Italy and Germany, following Brazil, rank as the
fifth and sixth countries, respectively. In terms of per
capita consumption, the world average amount was
about 28.7 liters in 2007, jumping from 18 liters in
2000. The United Arab Emirates and Mexico, speeding
up to exceed Italy in 2007, are the world‟s top two
countries in terms of per capita consumption. In the
United Arab Emirates, consumers purchased an
average of 260 liters of bottled water per person in
2007 (Beverage Marketing Corporation, 2008, in:
IBWA). Generally speaking, Europe is the top region
for bottled water consumption, accounting for 50.1%
of the global market share in 2007 (Datamonitor,
2008).
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Huiju Tsai
Figure 3: Top 10 countries of bottled water consumption in 2007.
Data source: Beverage Marketing Corporation, 2008, in:
International Bottled Water Association (IBWA)
Figure 4: Global bottled water consumption by region, 1997-2004.
Data source: Gleick et al., 2009
North America, following Europe, represents the second
biggest market. However, Asia has the highest annual
growth rate (See Figure 4). Zenith International, a
leading drinks consultancy company, predicted that
global bottled water consumption would rise a further
32% to 272 billion liters in 2012 (Palmer, 2008).
While the global bottled water industry has been
growing fast, a movement known as „Back to the Tap‟
has risen in many countries to boycott bottled water
products. On 18th August 2008, residents in London,
Ontario, Canada, were informed through local media
about a council vote to ban bottled water in municipal
facilities. London became one of the first cities in
Canada to stop selling bottled water in municipal
buildings (CBC News, 2008). Two days later, on
December 2nd, 2008 Toronto City Council voted to ban
the sale of plastic water bottles on all municipal premises
by 2011.
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
Furthermore, by the end of 2008, according to the
Polaris Institute, 17 municipalities from five provinces
in Canada had banned bottled water, and another 45
municipalities were planning to restrict bottled water
(Canwest News Service, 2008). Thus, a backlash
movement against bottled water became a trend among
cities in the country.
In the United States, Chicago passed a 5-cent-per-bottle
tax on bottled water sold within city limits in
November, 2007. Chicago became the first city in the
country to enforce a tax on bottled water. The new law
was expected to raise $10.5 million for the city
annually. The revenue was planned to be used for the
maintenance of the city‟s water infrastructure (Clair,
2007). The state of Washington, following the bottled
water tax in Chicago, considered to impost a fine on
the sale of petroleum-based water bottles “by any retail
store, wholesale club or vending machine provider.”
State agencies would be also prohibited to buy such
1
products (Beverage Industry, 2008a). In addition, the
San Francisco Mayor barred officials from using
municipal funds to buy bottled water in the summer of
2007, while New York City launched a $1 million
campaign to encourage citizens to drink the city's clean
municipal water. In Salt Lake City the mayor asked to
stop serve bottled water at municipal events (Walsh,
2007). The backlash against bottled water also took
place in Europe. Early in 2005, the Paris municipality
distributed free designer carafes in a bid to obtain a
majority of the population back to drinking tap water
(BBC News, 2005a). In the United Kingdom in 2008,
the Cabinet sent an order to the head of every
government department to phase out bottled water in
government offices (Politics.Co.UK., 2008). Schools,
restaurants and religion groups also launched activities
against drinking bottled water. Washington University
banned the sale of bottled water on its campuses at the
end of last year, and other universities, like University
Bulk water from
source
Bottled water plant
6
Water
treatment
Water bottle disposal
5
Filling &
Filling
Packaging
Packaging
Consumers
4
Plastic bottle
manufacturing
Retailers
2
3
The controversies:
1 Depletion of fresh water resources
2 High energy consumption
Steps during product life cycle
3 Big carbon footprint
Energy requirement & carbon footprint
4 High product prices
Source of the packing containers
5 The quality and safety issues
6 Plastic bottle disposal
Figure 5: Product life cycle of bottled water and controversies over bottled water industry.
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
of Leeds in England, were planning to follow the
same approach (O‟Neil, 2008; The National Student,
2009). Del Posto, a top restaurant in Manhattan,
reported to stop selling bottled water and serve diners
its kitchen's purified tap water, sparkling and still
(Walsh, 2007). On the list of the „Top 10 Food Trends
of 2008‟ conducted by Time Magazine, „the war on
bottled water‟ was ranked as number four (Time,
2009). The movement of „anti-bottled water‟ has
become a tide.
While the bottled water market has been emerging and
prospering, the backlash against this product has been
also growing worldwide. This paper aims to give an
overview of this issue. The claims by protesters,
consumers and bottlers will be examined. Certain
suggestions about what could be done to solve the
„bottled water conflict‟ will be further discussed.
Moreover, some potential new markets that might
emerge under the „anti-bottled water‟ trend will be
explored.
Protests: arguments against bottled water
Huiju Tsai
 A 50-year term, renewable for another 50 years
 The right to take 1,250 gallons per minute of spring water
 The right to take qualified water on an interim basis from
district's springs for bulk delivery to other bottling facilities
located in Northern California
 The right to construct pipelines and a loading facility
 Use of an unknown quantity of well water for production
purposes
 Exclusive rights to one of the Springs
 One hundred years of exclusivity, during which time no other
beverage business of any type may exist in McCloud
 Use of an undisclosed, perhaps unlimited amount of ground
water
 The right to take 1600 of acre feet of spring water annually
 The right, from time to time, to request purchase water in
excess of the maximum take
 The right to transport bulk water from spring sources, other
than the Springs, for bottling at the bottling facility (see
contract details)
 The right to choose exclusive use of either Upper or Lower
Elk Springs as an exclusive source for Spring Water
 The right to require the MCSD to dispose of process waste
water
 The right to require the MCSD to design, construct and
install one or more ground water production wells on the
Bottling Facility site for Nestlé’s use as a supply for nonspring water purposes.
The arguments against bottled water are addressed
along the product life cycle illustrated in Figure 5. Six
key issues have been argued.
Box 1: Summary of the contract between Nestlé Waters North
1. Depletion of fresh water resources
Bottling companies have been accused of depleting
precious fresh water resources (Howard, 2003; Lohan,
2007; Polaris Institute, 2009) since groundwater is
considered as a „non-renewable‟ resource (Foster and
Loucks, 2006). The depletion of groundwater could
have severe impacts not only on local ecosystems but
also on local communities and the economy (Foster
and Loucks, 2006; Polaris Institute, 2009). For the
manufacturing of bottled water, companies may pump
up to more than 500 gallons of water per minute from
every well, with operations in many cases going on 24
hours a day and 365 days a year (Howard, 2003). The
permits to draw water normally last for decades. The
huge amount of water extraction concentrated in
communities often disturbs local water balances, and
further impacts local residential, agricultural and
fishery water uses and ecosystems. Thus, water
pumping often draws public opposition and outrage in
local communities (Howard, 2003; Lohan, 2007;
Polaris Institute, 2009).
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America and McCloud Community Service District in 2003(part of
Nestlé Water’s right). Source: Adapted from Carreon, 2003
One example of protest concerns is the opposition
against Nestlé Waters North America in McCloud, in
the United States. McCloud is a small town with less
than 1400 residents with an abundance of pristine spring
water coming from the Shasta's glaciers (Lohan, 2007).
In 2003, Nestlé signed a contract with the McCloud
Community Service District (MCSD) to build a 1
million-square-foot water bottling facility. In the
contract (See Box 1), Nestlé gained superior water rights
for 100 years to pump 1,250 gallons of spring water per
minute at a rate of 1,600 acre-feet a year. An additional
unknown amount of well water could also be taken for
production purposes. According to the contract, during
the 100-year period, „regardless of drought or other
shortage, Nestlé has the rights to take its maximum
water draw. If the water draw is slowed or stopped for
any reason, the District must make a restitution to Nestlé
for its losses‟ (McCloud Watershed Council, 2003).
How much did Nestlé have to pay for this right? The
company pays 0.000087 cents per gallon for the water
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
it takes from McCloud's springs. That is a rate of 22
times lower than what local residents pay for drinking
water. Since the company can sell a 16-ounce bottle of
the water at a price of around $1.29, or $10.32 per
gallon, Nestlé can make $5,380,451,712 from the 1,600
acre-feet per year, by only selling the spring water from
McCloud (Lohan, 2007). This deal angered the local
community and a lawsuit against Nestlé went on for
years. Finally, in August 2008, Nestlé withdrew from
the contract (Food & Water Watch, 2008).
The depletion of groundwater by bottling companies
has also been reported to have caused strong impacts
on local communities. In Kerala, India, Coca Cola
established Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd in
1998-99 in a 40-acre plot. From this plant, the
company took away 15 million liters of groundwater
every day free of cost (PUCL, 2002). This huge water
extraction resulted in the depletion of water sources.
Local farmers eventually had to dig deeper and deeper
to search for water, sometimes under dangerous
conditions.
Global Issues reported that some farmers were digging
as deep as 450 feet without finding water (Global
Issues, 2007). Furthermore, during the bottling process,
the use of chemicals and effluents for bottle washing,
released without treatment by the bottling company had
contaminated the groundwater, creating a water crisis
for the surrounding communities and farmers, and
consequently, the local poverty situation worsened
(PUCL, 2002). In 2000, violent protests by furious
villagers forced the company to finally shut down the
plant (Global Issues, 2007).
Moreover, not all water extracted is bottled for
consumption. The Pacific Institute (2007) estimates
that one liter of bottled water sold represents three
liters of water used. In addition to the water sold in
plastic bottles, twice that amount of water is needed in
the production process. Generally, water bottlers
typically do not pay or pay only very low rates for the
right to use this precious public resource (Cormier,
2008; Saxe, 2008).
Huiju Tsai
Energy is required to capture and treat water at the
water sources, send it to the bottling plant, fill and
package it in the bottling plant, and transport the
product to retailers and consumers. Energy is also
needed to cool the bottled water and, after
consumption, recycle or dispose the used containers
(Pacific Institute, 2007).
Calculating the total energy consumption needed
during the whole product life cycle is a complex task
(Gleick and Cooley, 2009). It can vary by location and
type of water source, location of consumers, types of
materials and packaging, methods of transportation,
and other factors. Gleick and Cooley (2009) conducted
a study to calculate the quantity of energy required for
bottled water consumption. Table 1 lists the energy
requirement during production. Based on three
different scenarios, the total energy needed to produce
one liter of bottled water ranged from 5.6 MJ(th) to 10.2
MJ(th).
According to this study, the stage requiring most
energy during the whole product life cycle of bottled
water consists in the manufacturing of PET bottles. The
total energy needed for that stage is approximately 100
MJ(th) per kilogram or 100,000 MJ(th) per ton of PET.
Based on average weight-to-volume data, around 4.0
Energy intensity
(MJ(th) l−1)
Manufacture plastic bottle
4.0
Treatment at bottling plant
0.0001–0.02
Fill, label, and seal bottle
0.01
Transportation: range from
three scenarios
1.4–5.8
Cooling
0.2–0.4
Total
5.6–10.2
Table 1: Total energy requirements for producing bottled water.
Source: Gleick and Cooley, 2009
MJ of energy is needed to manufacture one typical 38gram-weight PET bottle. Since global PET
Energy is required through the whole product life cycle consumption for bottled water is estimated to be about
of bottled water. Figure 5 illustrates the path of energy three million tons, approximately 300 billion MJ(th) of
requirement during the bottled water product life cycle. energy is required to meet the global PET demand of
2. High energy consumption
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
the bottled water industry. This is the energy equivalent
of approximately 50 million barrels of oil per year
(Gleick and Cooley, 2009).
The energy used for the transportation of bottled water
can be also high, depending on two factors: the
distance from the bottling plant to the market and the
mode of transportation (Gleick and Cooley, 2009).
After being filled, the bottles may be transported by
boat, train, and truck. In the same study, three different
scenarios for products shipped to Los Angeles,
California, are assumed for the purpose of evaluation:
(1) processed municipal water that is distributed locally
by truck; (2) spring water produced in the South Pacific
(such as Fiji SpringWater), transported by ship to Los
Angeles, and distributed locally by truck, and (3)
spring water packaged in France (such as Evian),
shipped to the eastern United States, transported by
freight railcars to Los Angeles, and distributed locally
by truck. Based on the energy requirements of the three
modes of transportation (See Table 2), the calculation
results in a wide range of total energy requirements for
the three scenarios: 1.4, 4.0 and 5.8 MJ per liter,
respectively (Gleick and Cooley, 2009). To import
bottled water from France requires four times more
energy than to draw water from a local source in Los
Angeles.
Nearly a quarter of all bottled water is transported
across national borders to consumers (Owen, 2006).
For instance, in 2004, a bottled water company in
Helsinki, Finland, shipped 1.4 million bottles of
Finnish tap water to Saudi Arabia. The distance from
the water source is 2,700 miles (4,300 kilometers).
Two large French bottled water brands, Evian and
Volvic, are reported to export between 50 and 60
percent of their water to destinations across the globe
(Owen, 2006). Moreover, bottled water is not just sold
to water-scarce countries, like Saudi Arabia. In the
United States, Americans import water shipped for
about 9,000 kilometers from Fiji and other faraway
places (Arnold and Larsen, 2006). In the United
Kingdom, 500,000 bottles are imported annually,
mostly from France (Smith, 2008). All these
movements require substantial energy consumption.
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Huiju Tsai
Cargo
ship/ocean
Air cargo
Rail
(MJ t−1 km−
1
)
Heavy
truck
Medium
truck
(MJ t−1 km−1)
(MJ t−1 km−
1
)
(MJ t−1 km−1)
(MJ t−1 km−1)
0.37
15.9
0.23
3.5
6.8
Table 2: Transportation energy costs.
Source: Gleick and Cooley, 2009
3. Big carbon footprint
The bottled water industry has been blamed for its big
carbon footprint. Poulter (2008) compared the carbon
footprints of tap water and bottled water in the United
Kingdom. The supply of bottled water in the United
Kingdom is estimated to cause emissions of 0.172 kg
CO2eq per liter, i.e. 500 times higher than the provision
of tap water (around 0.0003 kg CO2eq per liter) in the
same country (Poulter, 2008). Fiji Water published the
carbon footprint data of its bottled water products on its
company website (FijiGreen.com). Data show that
Fiji‟s products emitted between 230 to 801 grams of
CO2eq per bottle (See Table 3). In terms of an average
carbon footprint per liter, the smaller is the product
size, the higher is the CO2 emission. Small bottles
require a larger amount of packaging material. Clearly,
more material also means more weight for
transportation. The production of one 330 ml bottle can
imply 30% larger emissions of CO2 in comparison to
one 1.5 l bottle1.
According to Fiji Water, its overall carbon footprint
was 85,396 tons CO2eq for the entire 2006 – 2007
Bottle
size
Carbon
Footprint
(grams CO2eq)
Carbon
Footprint
(grams
CO2eq/L)
330 ml
230
697
500 ml
302
604
1L
573
573
1.5 L
801
534
Table 3: Carbon footprint of Fiji bottled water.
Source: Modified from Fiji Green.com
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
production period (See Figure 6). The manufacture of
packaging materials and ocean freight lead to more
than 50% of Fiji‟s CO2 emissions. This is compatible
with the high energy consumption of PET bottle
manufacturing and bottled water transportation, as
indicated by Gleick and Cooley (2009).
The Pacific Institute (2008) estimated that every ton of
PET production implies the emission of around 3 tons
of CO2. Based on this data, bottling water lead to CO2
emissions of more than 2.5 million tons in the United
States in 2006 (Pacific Institute, 2008). In the United
Kingdom, the bottled water industry was responsible
for 200,000 tons of CO2eq emissions each year. In Figure 7: Prices of bottled water: a comparison with the price of
order to absorb an equivalent amount of CO2 tap water in California, the United States, in 2003.
emissions, 57,140 trees would be needed to be planted Source: modified from Gleick, 2004
annually (Smith, 2008).
In California, the price of bottled water can be 1990
times higher than that of municipal tap water. The
4. Highly expensive prices
bottled water price is also generally high in other
Bottled water is a highly expensive product compared countries. Even in Nepal, the average price of bottled
to municipal water supply. Figure 7 shows the bottled water was $US 206 per cubic meter, which was 412
water prices in different countries compared to the times higher than the California‟s municipal water price.
In the United Kingdom, the average cost of tap water in
price of tap water in California, United States in 2003
England and Wales is about 0.1 pence per liter, while in
the same regions bottled water costs 95 pence per liter,
Base year carbon footprint
i.e. 950 times more than tap water (Smith, 2008).
(tonnes CO2eq)
According to Gleick (2004), the bottled water price
Sales and administrative
exceeded $US 1,500 per cubic meter in Switzerland in
Consumption
1998. „It costs even more than gasoline‟ (Owen, 2006).
Distribution
5. The quality and safety of bottled water
Ocean freight
Trucking to port
Bottling
Raw packaging materials
and equipment transport
Raw packaging materials
manufacturing
Figure 6: Carbon footprint of Fiji Water, July 2006- June 2007.
Source: Modified from FijiGreen.com
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The quality and safety of bottled water has been
discussed in a controversial manner. The attention is
drawn mainly on three aspects. Firstly, bottled water has
been criticized because of generally loose regulations on
safety and quality standards and inspections. In
comparison with public tap water, the quality and safety
of bottled water are not regulated through strict
standards and regular inspections in many places,
including the United States and Europe (Franklin,
2006). Generally speaking, bottled water is considered
as a food product in most countries. Hence, it is often
regulated by Food Administrations and not by Health
Administrations. Municipal tap water is commonly
regulated by Health Administrations or Environmental
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
States and in the District of Columbia in 2008, and
found a wide variety of chemical pollutants in every
bottled water brand. Toxic by-products of chlorination
were also detected in two big local brands, Walmart‟s
Sam‟s Choice and Giant Supermarket's Acadia brands.
In total, 38 pollutants were found with an average of 8
pollutants in each brand (Naidenko, et al., 2008).
6. The disposal of plastic bottles
Figure 8: Contaminants found in bottled water in the United
States (* 22% violated enforceable limits. 17% violated
guidelines. Some waters exceeded both state limits and state
guidelines. The total that violated one or the other was 33%.
Percentages indicate % of waters for which at least one test found
containment. Number of waters tested: 103.)
Source: NRDC, 1999.
Administrations (Posnick and Kim, 2002; European
Commission, 1980 and 1998; IBWA; Gleick, 2004).
Usually, standards for tap water are more stringent than
for bottled water and inspections of tap water are more
frequent than for bottled water, particularly in many
industrial countries.
Secondly, contamination and product recalls of bottled
water are reported worldwide which includes even
some big brands. In 2004, Coca-Cola recalled all
bottles of its Dasani water in the UK, because of
potential carcinogens bromate contamination (BBC
News, 2004). In 2005, a potentially harmful chemical,
naphthalene, was found in Volvic bottled water (BBC
News, 2005b).
In the United States, the Natural Resources Defense
Council tested more than 1,000 bottles of water sold
under 103 brand names in 1999, and found that only
less than half of them were free of contaminants of
concern. The Council found that 33% of the
investigated brands violated state or industry standards
in at least one sample, e.g. containing contaminants
such as the faecal coliform bacteria, E. coli and arsenic
(See Figure 8).
In a survey, the Environmental Working Group
(EWG), which is a US environmental NGO, examined
10 popular brands of bottled water purchased in 9
The IMRE Journal
Bottled water is mostly sold in plastic containers
ranging from small 8 ounce or half liter containers to
multigallon bottles (Gleick and Cooley, 2009).
Globally, the bottled water industry is estimated to use
about 2.7 million tons of plastics each year (Arnold and
Larsen, 2006), for the vast majority of water bottles in
the shape of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (Gleick
and Cooley, 2009).
The disposal of single-serving PET bottles used for
bottled water can cause a heavy burden on the
environment. Although the PET bottles recycling rate
is unknown at a global level, it is estimated to be very
low. Data for the United States, the leading country of
bottled water consumption in the world, might roughly
reflect the global PET bottles recycling rate.
According to Franklin (2006), in 2004 about one in six
plastics water bottles sold in the US was recycled
(17%). Hence, the remaining 83% of used bottles
(about 1,739 million kilograms) ended in landfills or
incineration plants. Landfilled bottles may take 400 to
1,000 years to degrade (Arnold and Larsen, 2006;
Owen, 2006).
Franklin (2006) estimates that only approximately 4%
of PET bottles sold in the United States are recycled to
make new plastic bottles. As a corollary, new water
bottles are manufactured almost entirely from virgin
petroleum resin. According to the Ecology Center
(1996), manufacturing PET resin can generate toxic
emissions (including nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene
oxide and benzene) to air and water 100 times higher
than those of manufacturing the same size of glass
bottles. Producing new PET bottles also requires of
energy and resources (Franklin, 2006).
As a matter of fact, the substantial amount of plastics
waste from bottled water consumption is often the key
reason for governments to boycott this product. The
plastics water bottle ban in Toronto City was estimated
to imply a 70 % of Toronto's waste by 2010 (Canwest
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
News Service, 2008). The imposed 5 cent-per-bottle
tax on bottled water in Chicago also aimed to cut the
amount of plastics bottle waste in the city (Clair, 2007).
Bottled water is also criticized as immoral. The
commercialization of water has been questioned by
some Christian groups. Phil Woolas, the Environment
Minister in the United Kingdom, is quoted as saying
that bottled water „borders on morally being
unacceptable to spend hundreds of millions of pounds
on bottled water when we have pure drinking water,
when at the same time one of the crises that is facing
the world is the supply of water‟ (Smith, 2008).
People in countries with safe and cheap tap water
spend huge amounts of money on bottled water, while
people in countries where water is scarce have to
struggle everyday to reach available water sources.
Bottling water takes water resources away from the
poor in developing countries. "The moral call for us is
not to privatize water. Water should be free for all
(Cho, 2007)."
"People are making a substitution when they go to the
fridge, so instead of getting a cola drink, they're getting
a bottle of water" Statement by Patrick Racz, CEO of
Icelandic Water (Walsh, 2007).
Referring to prices of bottled water, Jeffery mentioned
that there is a whole range of prices. For instance, in
supermarkets, prices are lower than in other points of
sale. The CEO of Nestlé Waters added that bottled
water is cheaper than other convenience drinks
(Deutsch, 2007). Regarding to quality and safety of
bottled water, he argued that some incidents were
„problems with contamination that was introduced at
the store, not at the point of manufacture (Deutsch,
2007)‟. He claimed that the bottled water industry
„adheres to a formal set of good manufacturing
practices (Deutsch, 2007)‟.
Bottlers further argued that the industry was targeted
unfairly. Moreover, the industry provides a large
amount of job opportunities, which has a positive
contribution to the society (Smith, 2008).
Bottling companies: their claims
Consumers: why bottled water?
In order to respond to the environmental and media
backlash, bottlers claim that bottled water should not
be banned. The bottling companies stress that people
use bottled water as a substitute for other unhealthy
drinks; competing products of bottled water are other
soft drinks, not tap water (Beverage Industry, 2008a;
Deutsch, 2007; Owen, 2006).
„About 70 percent of the beverages that people drink
comes in packages. All our research shows that if
bottled water weren‟t available, people would buy
Gatorade, or fruit juice, or other sugared or diet
beverages. Some 16 percent say they would drink tap
water -- but you can‟t go into a deli and ask for a bottle
of tap water,‟ Statement by Kim E. Jeffery, an CEO of
Nestlé Waters (Deutsch, 2007).
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA)
also argues that bottled water provides a convenient,
healthy alternative to calorie-laden portable drinks or
those containing caffeine and artificial additives. The
Association claims that consumers choose bottled
water because they want to avoid such so-called
unhealthy drinks. People would turn to other drinks if
governments ban bottled water (Beverage Industry,
2008a; Owen, 2006).
If bottled water is so expensive and environmentally
costly, one question arises then: why do people drink
bottled water? The answer to this question differs from
country to country. Generally speaking, there are
several reasons:
The IMRE Journal
(1) Dissatisfaction with tap water organoleptics
Some people do not like the taste of tap water, as it is
sometimes heavily chlorinated or contains minerals
with unpleasant tastes. Bottled water often removes
taste during processes. Doria (2006) conducted a study
on the reasons why people turn to bottled water in the
United States, Canada and France, and found that
dissatisfaction with tap water organoleptics (especially
taste) comes out to be particularly relevant (See Table
4). However, blind tests in many studies show that very
few people can really distinguish the differences
between public tap water and bottled water (Gleick,
2006; Doria, 2006).
(2) Perception of „snob appeal‟
Drinking bottled water seems to be associated with
social status (Howard, 2003; University of Arkansas,
2007)
Page 10
‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
US
(1993)
(%)
Canada
(1999)
(%)
France
(1989)
(%)
France
(1995)
(%)
France
(2000)
(%)
Organoleptics
7
71
54
43
47
Health and
2
risk
47
25
13
19
23
-
-
28
19
16
47
-
-
-
-
Prefers
mineral or
spring water
Substitute for
other
beverages
Huiju Tsai
Some studies suggest that people buy bottled water
because they perceive it to be purer, safer and healthier
than tap water (Doria, 2006; Reuters, 2007; University
of Arkansas, 2007) Doria (2006) suggests that some
consumers consider bottled water to be healthier and
decide to switch to bottled water, in order to improve
their health (Doria, 2006). It is found that the growth of
the bottled water market appears to be closely relevant
to sales of “healthy food”: 70% of organic food buyers
„always‟ drink bottled water, while 18% of non-organic
food buyers do so (Hammitt 1990, in Doria, 2006).
Moreover, consumers‟ perceptions of healthiness might
be influenced by organoleptics (Doria, 2006).
(5) Effective marketing campaigns of bottled water
Another important factor that for the success of bottled
Other reasons
11
3
6
4
5
water worldwide is the effective marketing
(unspecified)
campaigning by bottlers. Their marketing strategies
influence the perception of consumers and they can be
Don’t know
1
generally categorized into two parts: branding and
Table 4: Reasons for drinking bottled water in USA, Canada, and
marketing. Firstly, branding is used to differentiate
France. Source: Doria, 2006.
markets. While there is no technological superiority
A survey conducted by the University of Arkansas between water companies, the brand becomes the only
(2007) shows that income levels seem to be relevant to aspect to differentiate one bottled of water from
explain bottled water consumption. The finding another.
suggests that Americans buy more bottled water when
having a higher income, especially above $50,000
annually. In addition, it was found that young people
(below an age of 40) consume more bottled water than
people in other age groups. Hence, young and highincome people are more likely to purchase bottled
water because of a perception of high quality.
Hardness
-
-
-
14
23
(3) Convenience
In many countries, especially in western countries, it is
generally agreed that convenience is one of the
fundamental reasons why people consume bottled
water. In those countries, bottled water is sold at
supermarkets, convenience stores, sporting events, and Figure 9: Marketing claims of Aquafina, Canada. th
Source: company website (Retrieved February 18 , 2009)
hotels and more public locations (Gleick, 2006).
Bottled water is portable, reliable, and widely
accessible. Using bottled water can save time and
energy for consumers to refill, wash and carry a bottle
all the time.
(4) Perception of health, safety and purity
Figure 10: Marketing claims of Spiritual Water.
Source: company website (Retrieved February 18th, 2009)
The IMRE Journal
Page 11
‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
Secondly, bottlers use marketing claims and
advertisements to build up the images of their brands.
Very often the claims stress on the health benefits and
purity of their brands (See Figure 9).
However, in order to draw people‟s attention and make
a clear differentiation with other water brands, the
marketing claims and advertisements tend to become
more and more exaggerated (Datamonitor, 2007).
Figure 10 shows the marketing claims of the Spiritual
Water brand stating how it helps to purify the mind
and body. Every bottle of this brand contains a Biblical
text and images to inspire consumers. This may draw
the attention of health-conscious Christians
(Datamonitor, 2007) and does not longer relate to the
statement that „after all, water is water‟, as Karolefski
(2002) notes in his report.
Country
(6) Public water risks
In many developing countries, where tap water is
either unavailable or unsafe to drink, bottled water is a
better option to safe drinking water. China, ranking the
third bottled water consumer country in the world,
constitutes a typical example. People in this country
are increasingly turning to bottled water because of
severe water pollution. Water from more than half the
mainstream rivers and lakes, and more than one-third
of ground water sources, is too polluted to drink
(Gleick, 2006; Owen, 2006; Lee, 2008). 700 million
people, out of total China's 1.3 billion, drink water that
is below the WHO minimum standards. Citizens with
higher incomes turn to bottled water, while
impoverished people can only boil tap or well water
for daily drinking. However, boiling can only remove
the microbes, but not chemical contaminants (Johnson,
2006).
Even in regions with generally good quality of tap
water, scandals about tainted public water can
influence the trust and confidence of people in the
quality of municipal tap water (Doria, 2006; Poulter,
2008). Moreover, citizens tend to remember accidents
for a long time (Doria, 2006). Doria (2006) provides
the example of the Sydney Cryptosporidium and
Giardia accident in 1998. The bottled water market
saw a 40% increase and remained high for five years
after the event.
(7) Basic drinking water source
The IMRE Journal
Dominican Republic
Lao People’s Democratic
Republic
Thailand
Guatemala
Guyana
Turkey
Yemen
Haiti*
Albania
Ghana**
Philippines*
Serbia
Cambodia
Indonesia
Bottled water users (%)
Urban
Rural
67
52
34
6
45
31
28
26
25
15
12
12
10
7
7
6
18
10
14
3
1
8
1
1
1
4
1
1
Table 5: Countries in which more than 5 per cent of the urban
population uses bottled water as their main drinking water source
Source: UNICEF and WHO, 2008.
* All or part of the water is sold from refilling stations that fill
bottles with tap water.
** Data for Ghana only describe use of ‘sachet water’ (300
millilitre plastic bags of water).
In some developing regions, dwellers rely on bottled
water as a significant source of their daily drinking
water (See Table 5). Tap water is packaged in bottles
and plastic sachets and sold by private enterprises
(UNICEF and WHO, 2008). In general, urban areas
have a much higher percentage of bottled water use than
rural areas.
In most developed countries, the high-quality public tap
water provides citizens with a fundamental supply and
convenience when they come to the need for hydration,
while in many developing regions people have to
struggle for their own daily drinking water sources.
The reasons why citizens in these regions drink bottled
water can be thus different. Generally speaking, the
reasons for dwellers in developed areas relate to factors
(1) to (5) and partly (6) mentioned above. The reasons
for people in developing countries relate to factors (3) to
(7), depending on economic conditions.
In sum, among all these reasons, there is one central
common idea for people in all areas to drink bottled
water, i.e. the desire for „safe‟ drinking water. Even if
tap water is good but people do not perceive it to be
good, they do not feel safe and turn to other sources.
The dissatisfaction with tap water organoleptics can be
Page 12
‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
also interpreted as human‟s natural resistance to
something not safe (irrespective of whether the „odd‟
organoleptics with tap water are a reality or are seen
in one‟s own perception). Since bottled water is
perceived to be safe (whatever this is true or not), it is
widely accepted and used. However, cultural factors,
like „perception of snob appeal‟, „convenience‟, and
„bottling companies marketing campaigns‟ further
enhance the consumption of bottled water.
What is the approach?
Bottling companies: go ‘greener’
In this global battle against bottled water, bottling
companies obviously have low ground over the
environmental impacts that the industry makes. Many
bottlers have started to react actively on the issue,
intending to improve their company images. Some
efforts have been done by bottling companies.
(1) Carbon neutral
Firstly, many companies work on the reduction of
company‟s carbon footprint to be carbon neutral.
Icelandic Glacial is one good example. Icelandic
Glacial claims that the company was the first carbon
neutral company in the bottled water market. The
company pipes the water directly from the Ölfus
Spring and packages it at the company‟s nearby
facility in Thorlakshöfn, Iceland, where the company
uses only geothermal and hydroelectric natural
energy. This allows Icelandic Glacial‟s initial carbon
footprint to already be much lower than other
conventional bottled water. Box 2 lists the policies
that Icelandic Glacial takes to meet carbon balance
(Icelandic Glacial; Prepared Foods, 2008).
Icelandic Glacial also claims that it uses local energy
providers, uses low-energy lighting throughout its
manufacturing plants and other offices and recycles
where possible. The company further offsets the
remaining balance of CO2 emissions via initiatives,
like reforestation, methane capture and wind energy
projects around the world (Icelandic Glacial).
Other big companies have been also putting in efforts
to become „greener‟. In 2008, Fiji Water joined the
Carbon Disclosure Project Supply Chain Leadership
Collaboration, an investor coalition on climate
The IMRE Journal
Huiju Tsai
 The water source: Icelandic Glacial spring water is sourced
exclusively from the Ölfus Spring in Southwest Iceland. The
company captures the water that is forced out under natural
pressure on its way to the ocean - with no effect whatsoever
on the natural balance of this resource.
 Green energy usage: The bottling plant is powered entirely
on hydro-electric power.
 100% recyclable bottles: The waters are packaged in 100%
recyclable bottles. The outer case packaging is made from
75% recyclable packaging. The company also achieved a 10%
reduction in PET by weights in 2008.
 Low emission shipping policy: As Iceland is a net-importer of
goods, Icelandic Glacial utilises otherwise empty cargo slots
on existing scheduled vessels for shipment of product to
destination markets. The flights and travel are restricted
wherever possible.
 CarbonNeutral ® certified: Icelandic Glacial works with
CarbonNeutral Company and was certified as CarbonNeutral
in 2007. Being carbon neutral refers to neutral (meaning
zero) total carbon release, brought about by balancing the
amount of carbon released with the amount sequestered.
Box 2: Icelandic Glacial’s policies for carbon balance.
Source: Icelandic Glacial (Retrieved February 18th, 2009)
change, to disclose the environmental footprint of its
products for the further management of CO2 emissions.
Fiji Water started to post the information on a new web
site along with progress reports on its pledge to become
“carbon neutral” (Beverage Industry, 2008b). Danone
Waters UK & Ireland, part of Groupe DANONE, joined
the Carbon Trust in the UK. Carbon Trust is an
organization which promotes the labelling of carbon
footprints on products (Carbon Trust, 2008).
(2) Increase of using recycled PET bottles
Bottling companies start to increase the use of recycled
PET bottles. On its web site, Pepsi-Cola announces that
the average Pepsi bottle contains 10% recycled plastics
and that more than 150 billions of Pepsi‟s containers
have been recycled since 1990 (PepsiCo, company
website). In 2007, the Coca-Cola Company set the goal
to recycle or reuse 100% of the Company‟s PET
(polyethylene terephthalate) plastics bottles in the
United States. The company also announced that more
than $60 million would be invested to build the world‟s
largest plastic-bottle-to-bottle recycling plant to support
its goal for PET bottle recycling (The Coca-Cola
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
Company, 2007). Evian introduced new 750-ml and 1liter bottles that incorporate post-consumer recycled
PET, and launched the Evian Water Protection
Institute (EWPI) to “advance the sustainable
management of natural water resources and to help the
world‟s populations preserve, maintain and restore
their wetlands.” Evian, Coca-Cola and other bottlers
cooperate with RecycleBank, a firm that offers
incentives for consumers to participate in municipal
curbside recycling programs (The Coca-Cola
Figure 11: Additional water used to produce 1 litre of bottled water
Company, 2007; Beverage Industry, 2008b).
(3) Bottle lightweight race
‟Lightweighting‟ the PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
bottles and reducing the amount of packaging
materials is another bottlers‟ focus. Most water bottles
which are made by standard machinery contain 18
grams of plastics. Now, the weight of some bottles is
cut down to 12 grams or less (ElAmin, 2007; PepsiCo,
2009; Weaver, 2009). In March 2009, PepsiCo‟s
Aquafina brand, the best selling brand in the United
States, launched a half-liter bottle, named Eco-Fina
bottle, to the national market. The new bottle,
weighting 10.9 grams, is made with 50% less plastic
than the same size bottle from 2002. PepsiCo claims
that this new bottle reduces the amount of required
plastics by 75 million pounds every year (PepsiCo,
2009).
PepsiCo‟s Eco-Fina bottle is not the lightest one in the
world. In 2007, France-based Sidel Inc. launched its
ultra-lightweight NoBottle, weighting 9.9 grams per
500-ml bottle, while the average weight of 500-ml
bottles at the time ranged between 13 and 16 grams.
Hence, with NoBottle, a 25% to 40% percent reduction
of plastics bottle could be achieved (ElAmin, 2007).
Nestlé SA's U.S. water unit cut the weight of its halfliter bottle to about 12.4 grams for some regional
brands such as Poland Springs in 2007, and further to
less than 11 grams for other brands, like Pure Life. The
company claims that a 9.8-gram half-liter bottle is to
be introduced to the market by 2011 (Bauerlein, 2009).
Lightweighting the PET bottles becomes a technology
competition between bottlers.
(4) Increase water efficiency
The IMRE Journal
by Nestlé (liters), 2002-2006.
Source: Nestlé S.A., 2007
Some bottled water companies also invest to reuse and
recycle their water use in order to improve their
efficiency. Nestlé announces that it has cut its water use
by 30% since 2002 (See Figure 11), which is equivalent
to 8 billion liters of water saved. In 2006, the amount of
water needed by Nestlé for the production of 1 liter
water was equal to 0.86 liter (Nestlé S.A., 2007). The
Coca-Cola Company reports similar results. In 2007, the
company used 1.77 liters of water to produce 1 liter of
its beverage products. By 2010 this amount is to be
reduced by 10% (Coca-Cola Enterprises, 2008).
Role of governments: legislation and
inspection
To respond to citizens‟ needs with respect to access to
safe and healthy water and to a protected environment,
governments can play an important role.
(1) Improve water facilities and expand the public water
system
Water is essential to our life and safe drinking water is a
basic need for human beings. Governments can
contribute substantially to improve water systems and
provide safe drinking water to citizens. According to a
progress report conducted by the United Nations
Children‟s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health
Organization (WHO) (2008), in 2006, 13% of the
world‟s population, i.e., approximately 884 million
people, did not have access to improved drinking water3
(See Figure 12). The majority of the population without
improved drinking water is located in developing
regions with about half of it in Asia (See Figure 13).
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‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
Figure 12: World drinking water coverage, 2006
Source: UNICEF and WHO, 2008
The water system in China is an example (Johnson,
2006). Governments can help to improve facilities of
public water systems (hardware) and adopt stringent
legislation about standards and the inspection of public
water quality (software).
(3) Make data about public water quality transparent
and accessible
In regions where the public water quality is good,
residents do not always trust the safety of public water
and turn to bottled water. One Expert on the European
Commission‟s water policy suggests the five-year time
Figure 13: Population using an unimproved drinking water lag between EU reports water quality may be a main
source, by region, in 2006 (millions).
reason why the EU citizens ignore the high quality of
Source: modified from UNICEF and WHO, 2008
public water (Gray, 2008). A proposal is that the Water
Information System for Europe should contain
In some of these regions, bottled water is the major
comprehensive reports to the Commission publicly
source for drinking water (See Table 5). In addition,
available on the internet.
improved drinking water coverage is significantly
lower in rural areas than in urban areas worldwide.
(4) Maintain a stringent legislation on standards and an
According to UNICEF and the WHO (2008),
inspection of bottled water quality
approximately 746 million rural residents do not have
Bottled water may not always be of good quality,
improved drinking water supplies, compared to 137
especially in countries without stringent legislation and
million urban inhabitants. Governments can design
inspection of bottled water quality. The conflict over
policies and initiate infrastructure works to improve
contaminated bottled water in India in 2003 provides
that situation.
one example. In India, in 2003, the Center for Science
and Environment (CSE), an environmental group, found
(2) Improve the quality of public water
massive doses of pesticides and other chemical
In some regions, although municipal water with pipe
contaminants in many local brands of bottled water. On
systems connecting to the households is provided, it is
average, every sample of bottled water tested contained
not safe for daily drinking. Polluted water sources,
36 times more pesticides than the maximum permissible
lack of a good quality management of the municipal
concentrations in Europe. Even so, the water companies
water systems and old pipe systems are often the
problems.
The IMRE Journal
Page 15
‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
Huiju Tsai
stated that that they met the standards of the
government. Hence, CSE blamed Central Government
for lax legislation on bottled water and weak
enforcement (Devraj, 2003). Evidently, adopting
legislation and ensuring its enforceability through
inspection constitute key tasks for governments.
(5) Improve the recycling rate of plastic bottles
Some governments have taken initiatives to ban
bottled water or impose a tax on plastic bottles to
encourage citizens drinking tap water. (See above for
London and Toronto in Canada and Chicago, U.S.A.)
In Member States of the European Union legislation
on the recovery and recycling of packaging waste is in
place.
Lastly, however the ultimate choice option is with
consumers. On average, the carbon footprint of tap
water is lower than the one of bottled water. Bottled
water which is produced and consumed locally has a
lower carbon footprint than imported brands. In areas
where safe drinking water refers to a variety of
options, making a choice for a lower carbon footprint
may be a good action for consumers to take.
Interestingly, options with lower carbon footprints
often are less costly.
Future perspective
Given the situation of a global campaign against
bottled water and the response by the bottlers, one
might ask: what could be the future of the industry?
Many analysts remain optimistic with respect to the
bottling industry. A report by Datamonitor, at the end
of 2008, predicts that the market's volume of bottled
water might rise to 165.5 billion liters, a value of $94.2
billion, by the end of 2012, representing a compound
average growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7% for 2007 - 2012
(Figures 14 and 15). In the Asia-Pacific region, the
average annual growth rate of revenue is predicted to
reach 13.7%. Even in the North-American and
European markets, despite the „Back to the tap‟
opposition, CAGRs of 7.3% and 4.1%, respectively,
are predicted for the same period. The markets may be
able to reach values of $ 31 billion (America) and $
40.8 billion (Europe) by 2012 (Datamonitor, 2008).
Although the average annual growth rates of the
bottled water industry might flatten or decrease, the
numbers are still predicted to be positive in all regions.
The IMRE Journal
Figure 14: Global bottled water market value forecast: $US
billion, 2007-2012.
Source: Datamonitor, 2008
Figure 15: Global bottled water market volume forecast:
liters billion, 2007-2012.
Source: Datamonitor, 2008
In that line, Beverage Marketing (2009) published
its new annual report, estimating that the growth
rate of bottled water in 2008 was only 2.3%, a sharp
decline from 8-12% in the decade before. It was
suggested that the global backlash against the
bottled water industry might contribute to this
decrease of growth. Nevertheless, the global
faltering economy might also be the culprit.
Generally speaking, drinking bottled water is
considered as a habit with a growing trend
worldwide in the next few years. Beverage
Marketing Corp. (2008) predicted that bottled water
may surpass carbonated soft drinks to become the
largest beverage category by volume in the next
five to seven years (Palmeri and Byrnes, 2009).
New developments and markets
The global „anti-bottled water‟ movement has lead
to innovations and the development of new markets.
One market is the one for biodegradable packaging.
In 2006, UK based Belu Natural Mineral Water
launched biodegradable water bottles from
NatureWork for its production. The bottle, made of
Page 16
‘Back to the Tap’ and the Water Industry
corn-derived plastics, can be commercially composted
back to soil in 12 weeks (Food Productiondaily.com,
2006). In March 2009, PurBlu Beverages, Inc., U.S.A.,
switched to a biodegradable polyethylene terephthalate
(PET) bottle made by Planet Green Bottle Corporation.
This oxo-degradable PET bottle is claimed to be
degraded biologically in five to 15 years but not to
impact the PET recycling process (Packexpo.com,
2009). Biodegradable packaging products seem to
have a growing market with annual increase rates of 20
% (Food Productiondaily.com, 2006; Merrett, 2008).
A second market is the one for refillable bottles made
by companies such as KOR Ideas, Sigg, CamelBak,
and Kleen Kanteen (Palmeri and Byrnes, 2009). These
refillable bottle products are often claimed to be free of
bisphenol-A (BPA), the leaching toxin found in
polycarbonate bottles. Moreover, refillable and
reusable bottle are often claimed to be environmentally
friendly (Wheeler, 2009).
In 2005, the Paris municipality distributed free
refillable carafes in order to encourage the citizens to
support drinking tap water (BBC News, 2005a). In
general, however, it is not clear how a market with
refillable containers can be sustainably established
without strong incentives, preferably set by
government regulations, as in the case of Germany
with its obligatory deposit fee on one-way drinks
containers.
A third market which may also benefit from the antibottled water movement is the market for home
carbonation systems. A home carbonation system
contains a carbonation machine, a carbon dioxide
canister and a reusable bottle (Soda Club). With this
system, a variety of sparkling water and soda drinks
can be easily made at home. However, this system is
not newly invented. In fact, the first business can be
traced back to the very beginning of last century
(Wikipedia). Currently, Soda Club, a company based
in Israel, has the biggest market share worldwide. The
company claims that its home carbonation products are
earth friendly, as its products use tap water, do not
need the use of plastics for bottle and avoid
transportation of water and soft drinks (Soda Club).
Other firms making filtration systems may also benefit
from the global bottled water campaign.
The IMRE Journal
Huiju Tsai
The „Back to the tap‟ movement has been heating up in
many countries. The major argument against bottled
water industry is the heavy, additional impact that the
industry could cause on the environment. Some protests,
thus, criticized that the bottled water industry is
unnecessary. For people in certain regions where there
is no access to safe daily drinking water, this claim may
not be true. However, when consumers do have various
options for their safe drinking water, making a choice to
reduce the burden that the human population places on
the environment can be a good option.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Prof. Dr. Jan C. Bongaerts, Mr. Stefan
Bartz and Ms Karen Murillo for their precious
information and feedback.
Notes
1. The amount of carbon footprint may vary due to
different factors applied for calculation. Thus,
one cannot compare the data of Fiji Water with
that of Poulter (2008) directly.
2. Consumers‟ perception of health and the fear of
public water risks are not distinguished as two
factors in this study.
3. An improved drinking water source is defined by
UNICEF and WHO (2008) as a drinking water
source or delivery point that, by nature of its
construction and design, is likely to protect the
water source from outside contamination, in
particular from faecal matter. It includes piped
water into dwelling, plot or yard, public
tap/stand pipe, tube well/borehole, protected dug
well, protected spring, rainwater collection.
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