Bottled water awash in a sea of controversy
NEW YORK -- Bottled water is in hot water, and marketers of alternatives are trying to seize the opportunity.
Some of the same health-conscious consumers who helped make bottled water a $15 billion business now are among those worried about its environmental impact — its 38 million plastic bottles a year made with 1.5 million barrels of oil.
"It's a tough time to be in bottled water," says Joseph Doss, CEO of the International Bottled Water Association. "We're facing a great deal of controversy."
Even some city governments are joining: Last month, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom banned city buying of bottled water for its facilities. Last week, a Chicago councilman proposed a 10- to 25-cent tax on bottled water to help pay for a $40 million water and sewer fund deficit — partly due to less tap water consumption.
Bottled water rivals are pumping up tap-based alternatives:
•Water filters. Brita, which makes pitchers with built-in filters, last week launched www.FilterForGood.com. It promotes using a Brita pitcher at home and offers a $10 refillable bottle by Nalgene for water on the go (with a portion of the proceeds going to global safe water group Blue Planet Run Foundation).
Visitors also are asked to register and make an online pledge to reduce their "impact on the planet" by giving up bottled water for a week, a month or a year. "This is something that's very top of mind with consumers, and we figured it was the right time to do it," says Hank Mercier, Brita's associate marketing manager.
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