Why I'll Never Buy Fiji Bottled Water Again

Let me have the "Doh!" moment for you first. I don't mind looking foolish. Sometimes that's important to the story of how we become savvier.

Just this week, someone was asking my opinion on adding customized labels to mini-water bottles as a customer amenity. I endorsed the idea from a "Let's wow the guest!" standpoint, even sharing a resource where you can have custom lables emblazened with your logo. This morning, after reading something that made me see the light, I rapidly sent a back-peddling email that recanted my endorsement of that idea entirely.

Those individual servings of water are horrible for the eco-system. When I was in Africa, the conservationists there really spoke out about how bad the bottled water trend is for the environment. I stopped buying it for awhile, then slipped back. Sometimes I even buy Fiji brand water, because I like their pretty (but wasteful) bottles. But besides the elaborate packaging, I forgot the impact of having those bottles shipped all the way around the world. The naked vanity of wanting to have a pretty picture on the water bottle has me a bit red-faced right now. I'm never buying Figi brand water again, and am getting my refillable Nalgene bottle out of the kitchen cabinet as soon as I post this.

As individuals, we need to look at how our choices affect the world, but as business owners we need to hold ourselves to an even higher standard. When we make choices on behalf of our clients, such as giving them a mini-bottle of water, then the impact of our decisions is magnified by how successful we become. We are obligated to pay attention and choose wisely, even in the smallest of small businesses.

Here is the article that made me remember how bad bottled water is for the environment.

And here is the deep link to an article by a London food critic who promises bad reviews to restaurants that don't offer tap water and try to steer people toward bottles. Talk about walking your talk through your business! What a good example.

Comments

[Murad]

I would agree that bottled water the contamination can stay in a long time.

[David Weber]

Another big factor in bottle water is the water itself. Remember the Perrier scandal a while back where this 'fresh mountain water" ended up being recycled and treated sewage?

For office use, distilled water is the best. It's incredibly cheap (I pay $1.75 for 2.5 gallons!) and is recognized from what I've read as the absolute best water for you.

If you need to sell individual water to your customers I've repeatedly read that glass is the best way to go. It's relatively cheap to recycle, uses less resources, and is infinitely recylable. I know Voss (which tastes great) comes in glass.

As a final note, a lot of environmental restaurants in the bay area not only serve tap water but serve purified tap water, so you're actually getting better water than if you had ordered the Fiji, Perrier, etc.

[Jaya Savannah]

I do agree that the Voss bottles are pretty sexy looking! I think buying one of those and then refilling it with water from a purifyer or at least a jumbo jug of locally produced water is a good idea. Recycling is great, and if we also reuse then it's even better.

[Jaya Savannah]

Addendum on Fiji-brand water:

Treehugger posted an article by someone who actually calculated what it takes to get 1 litre of Fiji water here to the United States, starting with the bottles that are manufactured in China.

Check it out: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/pablo_calculate.php

[ronald Sorenson]

We are starting an inspirational bottled water buss and we are not sure to use green or glass ? Thank You

[Jaya Savannah]

Hello Ronald!

Did you mean to say you are choosing between plastic and glass?

What a good question! I'm not really qualified to answer the question, but I'm thinking perhaps what might help is if you make it very clear on the packaging that you encourage people to reuse and recycle.

Perhaps you might even find a bottle that lends itself nicely to another purpose?

Please do drop back by our blog and let us know what you learned and what decision you made. It sounds really interesting! And kudos for you for evaluating the eco-impact of your decision!