We hate that Fiji Water ships its product half way around the world. Honestly, it’s the dumbest thing, ever. Yeah, it tastes like the water (we imagine) God drinks, and yeah FW offsets their carbon footprint (which isn’t really possible) and yeah their marketing strategy is solid. But in the long list of pointless products that humans (esp. Americans) waste time, energy, money and resources on, bottled water is by far the tops.
And a new report found that bottled water contains the same contaminants as tap water, ah, because most bottled water comes from a tap before getting filtered by an over-sized Brita equivalent and shot into a BPA contaminated bottle (OK, maybe Fiji Water is legit — but it’s still bad for you in the sense that a lot of shit had to get contaminated for that water to hit your lips).
Get into it with us, after the jump.
More: “FIJI Water Gets ‘Green’ Spin”
Included in the bad elements are bacteria, caffeine, the pain reliever acetaminophen, fertilizer, solvents, plastic-making chemicals and the radioactive element strontium.
In an article for the AP, an environmental engineer on the study named Jane Houlihan said, “In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water and, at 1,900 times the cost, consumers should expect better.”
Ever defensive of his industry, Joe Doss, who is president of the International Bottled Water Association claimed the study was based on the “faulty premise” that contaminants are a bad thing, “a health concern”, in the AP’s words.
No Joe, that’s just part of the issue. The other part being that bottled water is not something that consumers need. Yes, there are times when it is necessary, for example during disasters or in areas of the world where clean water is not available.
But for the average consumer, bottled water is a tremendous waste of money — and we expect to see the industry change with the declining economy and ever-growing public disdain for environmentally unsafe products.