Since 2007, the news that Aquafina bottled water is just purified tap water has been reported. Just this past week, another website blasted the news again as if it were new and alluded that we’ve been duped by PepsiCo into thinking we were drinking mountain fresh spring water.
And everyone gets riled up and raises their fists against the trickster PepsiCo who has mislead them.
But, the reality is, no one reads the labels. Everyone just assumes.
Aquafina’s label features a mountain graphic. There are no words that state the water you are drinking is from a fresh mountain spring. In fact, the label, in 2007, under pressure from consumer groups, was changed from indicating the water came from P.W.S. to a spelled out explanation – public water source.
The Aquafina label has always clearly said “purified” water … never said “spring” water.
Visit the Aquafina website and you will learn about the purification process they use.
If consumers had bothered to read the label instead of assuming, would there be such an uproar?
It seems to me the rants against bottled water like Aquafina are unwarranted. There is clearly a lack of consumers taking the initiative to read the label to find out more, especially if they were seriously concerned about the quality of water they were drinking.
Clearly, the bottle water industry is huge. Its convenience has contributed to massive growth in sales but, sadly, it has also contributed to a massive amount of trash that accumulating.
Instead of being angry at a company that is giving consumers what they are in the habit of purchasing, we should be angry at what our bottled water habit is doing to our planet, wildlife and even our own health. Angry enough to change what we do.
Eighty percent of the water bottles we buy end up in landfills, the absolute worst place for them to be. That means roughly for every 10 bottles we drink, only two end up in the recycle bin. [Source]
More alarming is the impact of this plastic trash on the environment and the wildlife as it accumulates in our oceans.
I don’t get upset at Aquafina’s marketing, but I do cringe when I read the statistics of production and consumption costs of bottled water:
The recommended eight glasses of water a day, at U.S. tap rates equals about $.49 per year; that same amount of bottled water is about $1,400. [Source]
So, while some are ranting about Aquafina’s so called misleading marketing, I’m going to focus on what each one of us can do to stop trashing this beautiful planet.
I believe that instead of opting for the convenience, we must decide to change our habits. We have the information available to give us the reasons to do so. It’s not just about the environment and the wildlife, it’s about your health and your family’s health:
Most water bottles are made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), a clear plastic derived from oil. PET is made with a cocktail of cancer-causing substances, including benzene and arsenic. These chemicals can leach into the water, especially if it is stored for a long time or gets direct sunlight on it.
PET can disrupt the functioning of the endocrine system. The communities in which PET bottles are produced report skyrocketing numbers of cancer from the air and water pollution created by manufacturing these bottles. [Source]
My plan to change my habits?
- Stop buying bottled water (it’s going to be quite a change since we are living fulltime in our camper)
- Purchase Nalgene bottles to use and refill
- Never litter
- Pick up other’s careless litter
- Invest in a Nikkon home water purifier
- Drink more water!
What will you do now?