Greenwashing in action
by Michael Smith
In a recent circular from the charity “Just a Drop” tried a bit more on greenwashing its ethical bottled water by stating that it now comes in a new BIODEGRADABLE and COMPOSTABLE bottle.
It does not matter whether it comes in a PET bottle or a BIODEGRADABLE and COMPOSTABLE one; bottled water is not and will never be ethical. Period.
Obviously having bottled water, if one has to have it, at conferences and such like and for personal use, in BIODEGRADABLE and COMPOSTABLE bottles is much better than having it in PET (plastic) bottles but why the supposed need for bottled water in the first place.
Also, as in this case they were trying to aim at bottled water as a promotional item at trade fairs and conference, why does water have to be given out in such bottles. Why not provide water dispensers and give out also small reusable sports bottles from lined aluminium, for instance.
Yes, such bottles are more expensive and in addition the provision of a water cooler, the latter which ideally should be a tap water mains fed one that has a built in filtration system, but such gestures would remain in the memory of the visitors a lot more than a plastic, whether biodegradable and compostable or not, bottle of water.
Bottles water, in my opinion, can never be classed as “ethical”, whether or not is it being sold by a charity which uses the profits from those sales to provide drinking water projects in the Third World. Bottled water simply is not and cannot, as I said before, ever be “ethical”, not even with the best intentions.
We have spoken about the issue of bottled water, especially the water in plastic bottles many times and the debate is going on in all green circles, but it is not just the plastic bottle that is the issue but the extraction of water for the purpose of bottling and selling in bottles itself that is rather contentious. This is particularly so in countries such as Britain, the USA and the like where the public water supplies are safe to drink, safer even than some of those sources from which the bottled waters are drawn.
I, for one, will rather drink – filtered, if need be – tap water from our municipal sources than so-called spring water that may have contaminants in it for which it may not even have to be tested, though for which tap water is being tested.
Most readers would be amazed as to what level of pollution and contamination is permitted in “spring” water compared to tap water. Tap water is by far, at least in those really well developed countries, safer than so-called bottled spring water and therefore we should use it, at home and in restaurants, in the same way as on the move.
Let's demand tap water wherever we can and if this is being refused then, maybe, we should no longer frequent that establishment.
© M Smith (Veshengro), January 2009
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Just a Drop ethical bottled water
