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We think that cutting out your bottled water habit is the perfect New Year’s goal for 2011. So does the Environmental Working Group (EWG). EWG recently posted their 2011 Bottled Water Scorecard, and the results show that most water isn’t as as crystal clear as most water companies would have you believe. According to the EWG report, most water companies are elusive about some common right-to-know questions — “Where is this water from?”, “Is the water purified? How?”, “Have tests found any contaminants in the water?” When water companies keep quiet about sourcing and purity, it kind of makes you wonder why you’re paying more for bottled water than gasoline right?
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What the EWG Scorecard Found
The EWG bottled water scorecard found that among the ten best-selling brands of bottled water, nine — Pepsi’s Aquafina, Coca-Cola’s Dasani, Crystal Geyser and six of seven Nestlé brands refused to answer at least one question about bottled water sourcing or testing, leaving consumers in the dark about what they’re actually drinking. One mainstream brand, Nestlé’s Pure Life Purified Water does discloses both its water source and treatment method on their label and offers an 800-number, website or mailing address where consumers can request a water quality test report. But this was a rare finding. Overall, 18% of all bottled waters fail to list the source, while a full 32% disclose zero facts about treatment or purity of the water.
Bottled water companies operate on a don’t-tell-consumers-jack system. This works well for them, because in spite of the secrets and lies that fuel water companies, consumers WILL still blindly purchase bottled water. Read on to see just how many consumers love bottled water.
Great post! I actually just blogged about a bet I made with my boyfriend on this exact topic last night! Mind if I reference tihs post on my blog?