Bottled water sales dry up, industry asks ‘why?’

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC

-----

Lewis is part of a bigger backlash against bottled water happening across the nation, and after decades of growth, the $11 billion industry is stuttering.

After steady expansion that saw U.S. per capita consumption grow from less than two gallons a year to a peak of 29 in 2007, bottled water sales slipped 3.2 percent in 2008 and are projected to dip another 2 percent this year, according to estimates by the Beverage Marketing Corporation, a New York research and consulting firm.

The primary cause of the decline is hotly contested.

Industry executives say the downturn is purely due to the economy. “We don’t think that anti-bottle water activists have had any impact,” said Tom Lauria, spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association. “People love their bottled water.”

Every other bottled beverage segment — soda, energy drinks, tea and the like — saw even worse sales declines this year, said Gary Hemphill, managing director of Beverage Marketing Group, a research and consulting firm in New York.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34451973/ns/business-going_green/

[hobbit709]

1. Ain't that just too bad.

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[rocktivity]

33. UNION BUSTER!

Cueing the official DU "Cry Me A River" String Quartet is MY job!

:nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity:
rocktivity

[hobbit709]

59. Look closely, mine's a quintet.

:rofl:

[rocktivity]

70. The fifth one had better have a green card

:rofl:
rocktivity

[melm00se]

2. because you can open

the tap and get pretty much the same water and if it's got a funny taste, a Brita pitcher/filter does a great job too, for a lot less $$$

[damntexdem]

39. Then use the filter, because the tap water is not to be trusted.

It's not just the funny taste or nasty smell, it's the solvents and other chemicals running out of your tap.

[superconnected]

46. Half of bottled water is straignt tap water though. I agree a filter.

Some people do live in areas with clean water. Depends on the water cleaning plant of each area. I use a filter. Some of the bottle water was considered better filtered but many articles on this showed they weren't changing those filters like they should.

[Politicub]

90. Yes, because the news is filled with stories about tap water killing entire cities

Please. :eyes:

Yes, use a filter if you want for taste, impurities removal or whatever, but 99% of the tap water in the US is fine.

[we can do it]

91. Ummm What Do You Think Is In the Bottle? TAP WATER

[surrealAmerican]

99. Most studies have found tap water to be safer than bottled ...

and the quality of your tap water is subject to more regulation than bottled water in this country.

[XemaSab]

110. Nestle wanted to open a bottled water plant in McCloud

As the crow flies, that's less than 45 miles upriver from here.

Yes, Shasta Lake and Iron Mountain Mine are between here and there, but I figure that the chemicals in the plastic bottles have to be FAR worse than any residual funk from the lake or the mine.

Why pay money to get virtually the same water that I can get for free?

Furthermore, did you know that bottled water is almost totally unregulated? If your tap water is dirty, it's somebody's job to clean it up, but dirty bottled water is not considered a problem.

[wordpix]

71. +1 I use a Brita, too---works great on DC water from the Potomac

[Luciferous]

86. +1 I love my Brita pitcher...

[wordpix]

89. I carry mine with me on road trips

[AndyA]

3. Bottled water is a scam, that's why people aren't buying it.

That and the economy.

The water is often just municipal water filtered a few extra times.

The plastic bottles can be a health concern.

It's expensive.

It's not green unless 100% of the bottles get recycled, and that doesn't happen.

So, there are lots of good reasons to not buy it in my opinion.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7262615&mesg_id=7262615

[No Elephants]

13. Even if bottles get recycled, there is still a green cost to the original manufacture and to the

reycling, not to mention shipping things arouond the country, first the original filled bottles, then empty bottles to be recycled and so on and so on.

[Lorien]

106. Yep. A Brita or Pur filter is healthier and cheaper in the long run anyway. nt

[FarCenter]

27. Bottled water from municipal sources is OK -- it it comes from springs and wells, look out

It can have all sorts of minerals and nasty stuff in it.

IIRC, the Saratoga Springs, whose water was once touted for its theraputic properties, have water with radioactive minerals.

[dixiegrrrrl]

82. The "glow" of good health, eh?

[stubertmcfly]

34. Bottled water is the antithesis of "green"

Even if 100% of the bottles were recycled, they are still a blight on the environment. Plus, recycling of plastics is less-than-optimal at best.

[robo50]

109. Not to mention the cost of fossil fuels used in both delivery and

collection of the bottles to "recycle" them. Then there is fuel used in the recycling process, and fuel used to deliver the recycled products to market.

[damntexdem]

42. "Just" filtered "a few extra times"?

What's wrong, do you miss the solvents and other chemicals polluting your gap water?

That 100% of bottles don't get recycled is not a reason to fail to buy it -- it's a reason to recycle 100% of the bottles you buy. On the other hand, that it's expensive is a reason to watch what you buy: e.g., store-brand filtered, distilled, or spring water in gallon jugs, available much cheaper. Or get a good filtering system for your tap water.

[napi21]

4. I'm sure the economy is part of it. It's certainly NOT

a necessity! But I also think a lot of people realize that many of not most bottled water is no different than their own tap water!

[Roland99]

7. And all that plastic going into landfills. Just buy a Brita pitcher and filters.

And a mug.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

36. Even my dog likes the Brita. Little brat won't drink Chicago city water anymore.

[KakistocracyHater]

88. my dog will not drink tap water, to the point of getting a bit dehydrated

I noticed she was acting sluggish, so I get Niagra gallon jugs at the dollar store, she drinks that just fine.

[MineralMan]

5. Golly, gee! I can't imagine why people would stop buying

bottled water. Could it be that people are trying to spend less? Could it be because there were all those news stories showing how you fill those bottles with tap water? Could it be because the chemicals that leach from your bottles into the water can harm people?

I just can't imagine...poor babies...

[The_Commonist]

6. Brita filters?

and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

[Roland99]

8. GMTA

[No Elephants]

17. Not sure why you are relating Britta filters to that. I don't know anyone who throws them in the

ocean. And one lasts a family for three months.

On the other hand, I'm guessing a lot of plastic water and soft drink bottle are part of that Garbage Patch.

[Frosty cupcake]

22. I don't think they're equating the two.

I think the poster means people are giving up on bottled water because of the Garbage Patch *and* they can use Britta filters if they don't want to drink straight tap.

[The_Commonist]

29. Exactly...

I use Brita filters, and I try not to contribute too much to the Patch.
Haven't bought bottled water in years...

[kestrel91316]

9. I hope the bastards who though up this planet-destroying abomination

burn in hell forever.

I haven't bought a dozen bottles of water in my life, and I'm over 50.

[Romulox]

10. I use reverse osmosis filtering. nt

[silverweb]

52. An in-home one?

I've seen those at Costco and they're not very expensive or complicated looking.

Do you think it works as well as a commercial reverse-osmosis system does? Are there filters and/or other regular maintenance replacement parts involved?

Any information is welcome and will help me make a decision.

[Romulox]

64. We have an under-sink model that the wife and I installed.

Took maybe an hour. We have a GE unit with about a gallon tank that we purchased at Lowes.

I couldn't tell you if its as good as commercial stuff. It's as good as the "Ice Mountain" brand bottled my wife used to favor, but that is spring water. Metro Detroit tends to have very high quality water, so what I'm doing is mostly removing chlorine and some sediments. The water definitely has no chlorine taste or odor after filtering.

Interestingly enough, I checked the PH of filtered and unfiltered water, and the filtered stuff was noticeably more acidic (the plain tap water was neutral.) Enough difference to show up on a PH testing strip, but not enough to detect by taste alone. Which makes sense, but needed to be taken into account if you're watering delicate plants.

Unfortunately, the pricing is a real razor and blades affair. Mine is a 3 filter unit, and I spend several hundreds of dollars annually to replace them. My filters clog more frequently than the manual indicates is the average, likely because our water is somewhat hard.

One last thing: I also have the SodaStream product. The synergy between this unit and a reverse osmosis unit is strong--it results in me almost never having bottle returns or having to recycle water bottles.

[silverweb]

80. Good to know.

I live alone, so I don't need anything fancy or extensive. I'm just trying to avoid getting on a hook for lots of filters or maintenance.

Thank you for the information! :hi:

[Demit]

11. There's hope for the intelligence of the general public yet!

If ppl didn't realize that the first things they can do without when times are tough are bottled water, bottled tea & bottled energy drinks, then I truly would have despaired. LOL! The gravy train for at least one stupid industry is over.

[wordpix]

72. amazing, isn't it?

[W T F]

12. I spent $250 on a reverse osmosis unit and I got all the pure water I need.

I just refill one plastic bottle and take it with me. and spend $30 for new filters every year.

[No Elephants]

19. Supposedly, the metal bottles are better for you bc chemicals leach out of plastic bottles into your

beverage. Of course, that's this week. Next week's latest study may say something different.

[Raschel]

20. I do think people aren't buying the plastic bottled water due to BPAs.

[Romulox]

47. I've had BPA free Nalgene and bike bottles for a couple years now...nt

[CrispyQ]

85. Seriously.

A few years ago we were told the #7 bottles were the safest. Oops! A few short years later we are told, not so! Turns out they are one of the worst!

Get a stainless bottle & a filter on your tap. No more money to big corporations who are pumping our aquifers dry for their personal profit.

[Mika]

107. The replaceable plastic filters and cartridges are rich in BPA.

I had some water filtered from Brita and Pur filtration tested, and it was very high in BPAs. The newer the filter the greater the count.

[CrispyQ]

108. That's good to know.

I feel even better about my inline water distiller, now!

[randr]

14. Easiest and first step to saving the planet

Remove plastic bottles from shelves
Mandatory recycling

[JonQ]

15. Because it's ridiculous to pay a dollar per bottle

for something you can get for free in most places?

The novelty has worn off. It's still handy for somethings (like short outdoor excursions) to be able to buy water bottles. But really not a practical daily ritual.

[Blue Owl]

25. or how about the fact

that a gallon jug of water usually costs less than a 16 oz. bottle.

Last time I was at the store, a 20-oz. bottle was $1.39 and a gallon jug was $.89. Go figure.

A strange thing, the price of convenience...

[JonQ]

28. I like how people flip out when gas hits 3 dollars a gallon

but scoff at paying less than 10 dollars per gallon for drinking water that is provided basically free from the city (ok not quite, but very cheap).

[reformist]

45. That's because they've been brainwashed to be scared of tap water. n/t

[boomerbust]

16. Its the economy

I used to buy it but now a few loaves of bread will go a lot further instead of bottled water.

[reformist]

18. When did tap water become so scary anyway?

I bet you anything that a lot of the horror stories we've all read were pushed by the bottled beverage industry...

[jayfish]

41. For Your Reading Enjoyment.

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=121529243

Mr. CHARLES DUHIGG (Reporter, New York Times): Well, we went out and we got millions and millions of vials from every single state in the country to test exactly what's in the water that's being delivered to residents. And we looked for over 300 different contaminants, and what we found was that there's basically two types of things that are in people's water. And about 69 million Americans have been exposed to drinking water that contains things that scientists say pose health risks.

Some of those things are regulated contaminants, it's actually things that the Safe Drinking Water Act, which is the nation's largest law and only law dealing with tap water - things that Safe Drinking Water Act says have to be limited but where scientists say those limits are too lax and things that are allowed to get into water are dangerous, even though it's technically legal.

And then there's hundreds and hundreds of other chemicals that are completely unregulated and which, again, scientists say are dangerous. And for those, there's nothing to keep them out at all.

GROSS: You say there's only 91 contaminants that are regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. What's left that's not regulated?

Mr. DUHIGG: Literally thousands and thousands of chemicals. There's 60,000 chemicals that are used in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Now, most of those are things that are used in small amounts, or maybe they don't get into water supplies, and a lot of them have never been tested. So they might be perfectly safe.

But some of the things that aren't regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the number one thing that people talk about is a chemical named perchlorate, which is an additive that they put into rocket fuels. They use this a lot when they used to store munitions, when they make fireworks, for a whole bunch of other types of manufacturing. And military bases would store rockets and the perchlorate would leak out.

Here's a link the audio version as well:

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=12-17-2009

[reformist]

44. Has anyone tested bottled water for these contaminants???

Or should we just take the corporation's word that it's "pure", whatever that means?

[jayfish]

50. I Don't Know Why It Matters.

Your question wasn't about tap water v. bottled water.

Here's is some info anyway:

http://www.frequencyrising.com/water_bottled.htm
http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/appa.asp

Jay

[superconnected]

53. Nealy all bottled water comes from tap water though, and the last study I saw was half is

completely un-filtered - it is straight tap water.

[jayfish]

55. Please Note:

I'm not defending bottled water. I was responding to what, to me, appeared to be a rather naive question about the safety of tap water. Naive bordering on trollish.

Jay

[superconnected]

56. Whats the naive bordering on trollish for?

Grow a spine. I understood what you meant.

[reformist]

58. It's naive to doubt scare stories?

All I'm saying is question everything, because everyone has an angle, especially when there's $$$ to be made. It benefits the beverage corporations to make you think other industries are polluting the water supply, even if they aren't.

ETA: Sorry, not addressed to poster immediately above, but to the poster who said my post was "trollish".

[jayfish]

60. Maybe It Wasn't.

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive. But when you ask "when did tap water become so scary anyway", as if there have never been concerns over the safety of tap water, on a site for people who hold environmental concerns in high regard it raised my eyebrows.

Jay

[jayfish]

61. "Grow A Spine"??

Elaborate?

Jay

[superconnected]

100. I only said grow a spine to you because I thought you were calling me naieve and trollish.

[jayfish]

101. LOL!

That's what I thought. I wanted to make sure though before I showed you my spine. ;)

Jay

[Posteritatis]

98. Said industry is selling tap water anyway. (nt)

[Ozymanithrax]

21. 3.2 percent of the bottled water users discovered that tap...

water is cheaper.

The question should be, why so few?

[Akoto]

23. We only buy bottled during hurricane season.

After a storm, you just have no choice but to keep a supply of clean water, as you don't know when utilities will be safe to use again. Otherwise, I just get mine from the fridge, which has a filter in it.

[onehandle]

24. It should for dudes especially. I know two relatively young guys who have gotten prostate cancer.

Both were heavy consumers of bottled water and are convinced that's why they got sick.

[1776Forever]

26. I have hypo-thyroidism and believe me I drink bottled water only if I can & recycle!

If anyone wants to know more about that here is a good article:

Fluoridated Water Is Causing Low Thyroid
Commentary on 2006 Research Findings
By Mary Shomon, About.com Guide
Created: April 03, 2006

http://thyroid.about.com/od/drsrichkarileeshames/a/fluoride2006.htm

.........First, if you are not a thyroid patient, have your thyroid status carefully checked. Insist on more testing than the simple AMA panel of TSH and Free T4. Add a Free T3 and the Thyroid Antibody Panel. You may be one of the millions of people whose fluoride exposure over the years has finally made you low thyroid.

Second, if you are already a thyroid sufferer and treatment is not going as well as you would like, consider an enhanced fluoride avoidance program. Stop drinking and cooking with tap water if it is fluoridated. Well-chosen bottled water is preferable. Start buying non-fluoridated tooth paste. It's available at the health food store if you really look closely. Decline the fluoride dental treatments and make sure it is not in your mouth wash. The various other food sources are probably not a significant factor.

(more at link)

[diamidue]

113. thyroid

I'm also hypothyroid. I have filters that eliminate both chlorine and fluoride in my drinking water. I use fluoride-free toothpaste, etc., too. I also eat seaweed daily to obtain the necessary iodine. But as far as I know there are no fluoride-free shower filters & you can absorb tons of fluoridated water showering. Plus, my garden vegetables are watered with fluoride. So it cannot be entirely eliminated. It is a dirty trick having these things in our water supply. Based on lies, and no doubt, money exchanging hands under the table.

[krispos42]

30. Gee,I wonder why...

Let's see what Lewis Black has to say on this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HafyhoPdKW0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXS5GBuk-GQ (longer version)

[xxqqqzme]

84. Oneof my favorite Lewis Black

rants - Aqua Fina - the end of water as we know it! I believe that (even though I had 3 years of Latin & know better. I think I just dated myself - is Latin even taught anymore?)

[SergeStorms]

31. Remember......Evian spelled backwards is.......

Naive! ;) You'd think these corporations would know by now that continuous, perpetual growth is a myth. The rubber band has to snap back in the other direction sometime, yet they always seem to be caught by surprise when it does. :shrug:

[Critters2]

68. +1 nt

[rocktivity]

32. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" award

Industry executives say the downturn is purely due to the economy.

Well, duh--the economy's so bad that even bottled water has become a "frill!"

:eyes:
rocktivity

[GreenPartyVoter]

37. It's good news in my book. Less plastic being put out and maybe Poland Springs will stop

trying to steal all their neighbors' water.

[LittleGirl]

35. Here's why I don't buy them anymore.

12 yrs ago, I lived in Phoenix where canals brought water in from other places. The tap water was warm and I wanted cold water. I bought gallon jugs and refilled them for a quarter and put them in my fridge. Then the bottled water companies got greedy. They started to charge more and more. Now at the airport, stadiums, entertainment sites etc., it's 2 bucks for a 1/2 liter of water. Stopped buying them completely and you can't carry liquids through security anyway.

fast forward 12 yrs and I have a brita filter and reuse solid bottom bottles. The bottoms have to be flat to sit on wire shelves in the fridge because the bottles with uneven/wobbly bottoms tip over.

I quit drinking sodas and other 'flavored' drinks because water is healthier and better for you. It won't rot your teeth or make you gain weight.

The bottled water companies got greedy. Plain and simple.

[damntexdem]

38. Tap water cannot be trusted, at least without filtering.

But I buy the cheapest, store-brand water in gallon jugs and refill the bottles I carry. Or, if I have time to fill the bottles more slowly, I use the filter on the refrigerator water line to refill my bottles.

[cali]

62. My tap water can. It comes ice cold gravity fed from a spring

just above the village. It's tested frequently and it is hands down the best water I've ever tasted.

[arikara]

74. But most of bottled water

is simply bottled municipal tap water, and as such it could have chlorine, fluoride and other chemical contaminants in it. A britta filter is sufficient to remove the chlorine, but it doesn't take out the fluoride so I can understand buying water if your tap water has been "treated" with that however you'd want to be sure that what you're buying isn't also contaminated.

If I need to transport water for drinking, I use a washed out glass Braggs vinegar bottle that I keep inside a padded cover. I've heard of people using sobey drink bottles as well. Glass is way safer than any sort of plastic, especially if there is any chance that the water could sit in a hot car and get heated.

[DesertDiamond]

40. Since I started getting my water at a locally owned water store, I've noticed...

most bottled water has a lot of chlorine in it! It tastes terrible, it burns my throat - ACK! I can't drink that stuff anymore. With some exceptions, but even those aren't as delicious and the genuiunely purified water I've gotten used to drinking.

[superconnected]

54. Yep. Our local Fred Meyers store has their name brand that tates like suds.

I've tasted lots of icky tasting bottled water now other than just the Fred Meyers brand.

[Blue_Tires]

43. switched over to a reusable metal bottle filled with tap water

those corporate shits have gotten enough of my $$$ over the years

[hatrack]

48. Uh, maybe because people realized they had been dumbasses to buy it?

:eyes:

[superconnected]

49. But the real truth is, they can't afford it so finally switched to cheaper/better means.

[LisaM]

51. In our case, it's the packaging

I just can't justify going through four or five plastic bottles a day.

[Better Today]

57. Yep, I bought my 12 bottles of tea-like stuff in GLASS bottles, then I

drank the teas, kept the bottles, washed the bottles, bought tea bags, and every night before bed, I make twelve bottles of tea to put in the frig for the next day. Takes all of about 5 minutes to stuff a bag in each bottle, add half hot (but not boiling) water to activate the teabags, then top off with cool tap water. Viola!, everyday fresh, individual bottles of tea and no plastic bottles in the trash. Costs a lot less also, about $.25 a bottle.

[XemaSab]

111. This is the winning plan

If you use boiling water and put the bottles upside down on the counter for an hour or so to cool, they're sterile.

And yes, it's really cheap and really eco-groovy. :D

[Winterblues]

63. Every other bottled beverage segment — soda, energy drinks, tea and the like — saw even worse sales

Bullshit.... Vitamin Water sales sky rocketed. If there are others like my wife they have their own water bottle they carry around now filled from the PUR filter in our fridge.

[wordpix]

75. they should be bad, too---just add a bunch of sugar, food coloring and artificial flavor to tap H2O

UNFILTERED, and you can have your own cheaper version of the same thing.

Or you can use filtered tap water, add maple syrup, juice from a real lemon, grapefruit, orange or apple, and GO!

[kestrel91316]

65. Too many people heard about Colin Beavan's handy, environmentally

appropriate water "bottle": http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2007/07/my-ultra-cool-1.html

Or maybe they read what happens when we allow what happened with gas to happen with water:
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2008/04/when-whats-happ.html

Ditch the plastic bottles. Permanently. They are fundamentally incompatible with a happy, healthy future for us and our planet.

[Zorra]

66. Heh. Drinking bottled water is one way to flush your money down the toilet. n/t

[depakid]

81. That really is the bottom line-

[pissedoff01]

67. How could people survive before bottled water???

[Critters2]

69. I have three plastic bottles, recycle numbers 2,4,and 5, that I bought at church rummage sales,

that I fill with filtered tap water. I see no good reason to buy bottled water.

Still, I wonder what happens to those filters I throw away.

[wordpix]

73. next up: plastic cups and plates---along the same "abomination" lines

[Ghost Dog]

76. "Brita", huh? (I'd never heard of the brand until now, here in Europe).

This "global corporation" must be employing some powerful marketing techniques over there.

(© 2009, The Clorox Company. All rights reserved.)

[shanti]

93. there's "pur" brand too

but brita is more well known

[freedomnorth]

77. I smell recession. n/t.

[SlipperySlope]

78. All the money I used to spend on bottled water now goes to bottled air.

I decided to swap one useless product for another. Now my money goes 100% to packaging and advertising without that pesky water to transport.

[november3rd]

79. "Industry?"

Industry is supposed to add value to products and provide customers with necessities and wants.

The water pirates do none of those things.

[dysfunctional press]

83. when people don't have jobs, they cut back on frivolous luxuries.

they can get water from the tap a whole lot cheaper.

duh.

[marlakay]

87. A lot of us stopped buying it and got filters

i have a filter system on my whole house now and extra on frig. I think its a good sign its down, we should get rid of all the plastic bottles.

[shanti]

92. brita filter, tap water, and a stainless steel container

that's what i use.

[MattSh]

94. Why aren't people buying bottled water?

Maybe they're downloading it for free off the internet?

:hide:

[Ter]

95. Thank God!

The bottled water people are the biggest group of uppity candyasses I have ever seen. I can understand buying one to bring on a trip or go to the gym, but it's the ultimate in moronicness to buy bottled water in a restaurant or at home when you can drink tap water for free. It's a conspiracy that it's better for you and we know it.

[Withywindle]

96. The question is "why" did people ever fall for the bottled-water scam in the first place!

What the hell was the appeal? :shrug:

[RobinA]

103. Several Reasons

I don't like the taste of my tap water, I like to put the bottles in my purse, and its available when you are out. Time was when you couldn't get water on the street, you had to buy soda or nothing. Thanks to bottled water, I'm not stuck drinking soda in the summer when I'm out and about.

[Tabasco_Dave]

97. They always ask why?

Why don't women wear girdles anymore?
Why don't people buy Perry Como records anymore?
Why don't men wear Fedora hats anymore?
Why don't parents name their daughters Blanch or Mildred anymore?
Why don't people buy big gas guzzling SUVs anymore?
Why don't men wear dicky shirts and cuffs anymore?
Why don't women wear beehive hairdo's anymore?

Why? Because it went out of fashion, thats why.

[freesqueeze]

102. who would expect them to admit the anti-bw crowd makes a difference

but whether it is greens or the lack of green that causes it ... good riddance. this is a product the world should shoving out the door of relevency.


STOP BUYING BOTTLED WATER!

[apples and oranges]

104. I wonder if this is why we're suddenly being warned about the dangers of tap water

[wordpix]

112. no, tap water IS baddue to chlorination, forming carcinogenic trihalomethanes

look it up---info is all over web

[EvilAL]

105. I have a well

and when I do occasionally by bottled water it isn't as good. I had it tested and it's clean as a whistle. Comes straight from the mountains and tastes great. Coffee tastes better, juice tastes better, showers feel cleaner.. Can't fuckin beat it. I'd hate to have to go back to anything else.
Doesn't surprise me that bottled water sales are dropping, I never understood why people would pay for bottled water unless it was a last decision at the store or on the road because you are thirsty.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

114. Why no market for bottled water?

I guess I'm still baffled as to why there IS a market for bottled water.

:wtf:

[JNelson6563]

115. I wonder what water filter sales look like.

Maybe people are wising up and not buying over-priced water in disposable bottles that are collecting in the landfills in huge numbers.

Just a thought.


Julie

[Kingofalldems]

116. I just bought a fridge with filtered water dispenser--tastes great.

I bet half the bottled water came not from a spring but from the company laundry sink.