Has anyone else seen this commercial? It's laughable. Everything they say is true: they talk about how kids don't swim in pools of high fructose corn syrup, how they don't play in sugar, etc. They talk about artificial colours and flavours, too. It gets your attention, until you realize what the ad is for: bottled water!!!
Um.
Does anyone wonder why companies sell stuff? It's not because they want to improve the world, it's not because they think that their product is better for the public. It's because they make MONEY!!!! Especially big companies like Nestle. Bottled water is a multi-million dollar industry.
The worst part of this is that tap water is better for your pocketbook and the environment. There are safeguards and regulations in place regarding tap water-it's there to protect us. There are fewer regulations regarding bottled water, and it is much more likely to contain feces. Google that, if you don't believe me. Worse, companies like Coca Cola and Pepsi take tap water and run it through filters and then bottle it. That works out to 40% of all bottled water - it's just glorified tap water anyway!
On the side of the environment: it is estimated that 88% of Americans don't recycle their water bottles, they throw them out. That works out to 40 million water bottles A DAY. I don't have numbers for Canadian water bottles but numbers (the 88% part) are likely similar. Nevermind the fact that the bottles are made of plastic that usually isn't made from recycled materials.
Health-wise, we should all know that plastic leaches chemicals. "They" say that BPA (Bisphenol-A) is the dangerous plastic, and that plastics now are safe and don't leach....BUT...didn't they say that about BPA? For years they've used plastics in food storage for adults and babies and assumed it was safe, only to find out that it isn't. What a surprise.
To close, I'd like to implore people: don't fall prey to advertising. Don't buy plastic water bottles at up to 10,000 times the cost of tap water. Instead, invest in a stainless steel water bottle, or a mason jar with tight fitting lid. Carry it with you, and refill it from the tap. People may look at you funny when you hand a mason jar to them to fill, but hey, maybe it will make them think!
1 comment:
hi Berry
I did the very same thing you did. I saw the Nestle Pure Life kids playing outside in water commercial around April 15th too, and I got mad as hell. I wrote about how Nestle Pure Life is Greenwashing the Web by suggesting in their web copy that recycling is a manageable solution to the plastic waste they create. We need to punish this company by asking consumers to avoid all Nestle products.
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