Natural Hydration Council

The Natural Hydration Council, launched on 1 September 2008, is a new British lobby group founded by Nestle Waters UK Ltd., Danone Waters (UK & Ireland) Ltd., and Highland Spring Ltd. The lobby group suggests that there is a need to communicate the facts about bottled water and that this need “stems from growing sales of bottled water and greater public debate over its social and economic impact, from concerns with the environment to benefits for public health.” One of these concerns is water scarcity and the Natural Hydration Council suggests that the sale of bottled water is “Saving water in a water scare world…” There is an insidious and implicit suggestion to expose the orange juice industry on the issue of water scarcity instead of the bottled water industry when the council notes “to produce 1 litre of orange juice, around 850 litres of water is used. In contrast, a litre of bottled water takes just a few litres, a level less than most hydration alternatives.”

A selection of facts the Natural Hydration Council uses to promote the consumption of bottled water include:

• Bottled water affords one the ability of “Staying hydrated on the move”
• Bottled water is “a replacement for hot, soft and other drinks”
• Bottled water companies are “putting more back in society” through charitable actions

There is growing debate over the bottled water industry and this stems from a variety of social, economic and environmental factors. In the US alone, where bottled water sales have tripled between 1995 and 2005, the bottled water industry is worth an estimated $4 billion. In 1970 the global consumption of bottled water was 300 million gallons. By 2004, this figure increase to over 41 billion gallons. Nestlé Waters recently forecast consumption levels to be near 80 billion gallons by 2012.

Critics of the bottled water industry point to the exorbitant profit margins from bottled water sales. Bottled water corporations pay very little, if anything, to extract water from municipal systems, streams or aquifers. The average retail cost of 16 ounces of Aquafina bottled water, for example, is $1.19 (US) when the estimated retail cost of 16 ounces of municipal tap water is less than a penny. What is insidious is the fact that Aquafina is “publicly sourced water” or, simply municipal tap water.

Elizabeth Royte’s suggests in her book, ‘Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It’, that the bottled water industry is “the biggest scam in marketing history.” Even executives from the branding industry are chiming in to suggest that the bottled water industry is a farce. Don Williams, chief executive of London-based brand consultancy Pl Global comments, “Inevitably the plug is being pulled and consumers, urged on by a crescendo of dissent and disgust, are turning towards their taps once more. The more you think about it, the more daft it is. Isn’t it about time someone set up a factory in the Swiss Alps bottling clean, fresh, pure air? I’m sure there’d be a market for it.”

In his book, ‘Inside the Bottle: An Expose of the Bottled Water Industry,’ Tony Clarke lists ten concerns about the production and sale of bottled water:

• Price Gouging – there are significant mark-ups in the bottled water market
• Water Takings – where does bottled water really come from and who owns and regulates the takings?
• Transforming Water – what kind of filtering/purification processes are used to turn ‘real’ water into bottled water?
• Contaminating Water – even though the industry claims that bottled water is superior to tap water we find disturbing evidence of concentrations of toxic ingredients sich as arsenic and mercury in bottled water samplings.
• Marketing Schemes – value is not in the bottle but rather the perceived social value.
• Eco-Threatening – bottled water containers are a threat to the environment
• Recycling Record – the beverage industry was responsible for promoting a shift from glass to plastic containers and continue to oppose legislation aimed at improving recycling rates for plastic bottles
• Manipulating Consumers – due to manipulative strategies the bottled water industry has done an effective job at luring people away from their taps.
• School Contracting – beverage companies sign contracts with schools. Clarke notes the danger of selling public space and access to young people’s minds.
• Water Privatising – the bottled water industry undermines citizens confidence in public utilities.