I have never understood the concept of bottled water in the Global North. In the Global South it is a necessity due to the inaccessibility of clean water. But here in the North, where the water that comes out of our taps is free and safe, I fail to understand why people buy bottled water which costs 2000 times more. Some people say it tastes better, I think I need to get my taste buds checked because I can not tell the difference. Some people say the quality is of a higher standard because it comes from some exotic natural spring but are you really sure about that? I think its all a big scam and here is why.
We live in a world where advertising is everywhere. It plays into our emotions and desires and it is defiantly one of the major driving forces of the economy. In the 1970's, giant soft drink companies such as Coca Cola and Pepsi realized that their growth projections were starting to level off and they were in need of the next big product. The health craze was just around the corner, and people were soon going to realize how unhealthy soda is, which would result in more people drinking free tap water. So what did these mega corporations do? They manufactured demand through advertising. First they manipulated people's insecurities by undermining the city's purification procedures. Second they seduced consumers by using marketing techniques such as pictures of luscious mountain streams to make people believe that is the source of the water that they are consuming. But in reality, most bottled water such as Dasani and Aquafina are actually tap water.
So what's the big deal if you don't mind spending your money on a product that you can acquire at no cost? Its your money after all. Well producing bottled water has many detrimental effects on our environment. The amount of oil that is used to produce plastic bottles in the U.S is enough to fuel millions of cars. Disposal is another huge concern. Have you ever thought about where your bottles end up? Most of them either end up in landfills where they take thousands of years to decompose, or they are burned in an incinerator which releases toxic pollution that affects the entire globe. Most developing countries do not have access to clean water because of polluting industries such as bottled water companies, and as a result the water crisis is rampant. Did you know that more people have access to a phone than clean water? Water is a basic human right that should be available to all. Sadly the cost of just one case of bottled water could supply a person in Africa with clean, safe drinking water for a year.
The choice is yours. If you live in an area where clean water is inaccessible then you have a right to bottled water, otherwise there is simply no excuse. If we continue to buy into fads such as these, who knows if we will be buying air in the near future. Sounds pretty delusional don't you think? Well this is no different!
