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Aquafina labels to spell out source - tap water

By Martinne GellerThu Jul 26, 5:31 PM ET



PepsiCo Inc. will spell out that its Aquafina bottled water is made with tap water, a concession to the growing environmental and political opposition to the bottled water industry.

According to Corporate Accountability International, a U.S. watchdog group, the world's No. 2 beverage company will include the words "Public Water Source" on Aquafina labels.

"If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," said Michelle Naughton, a Pepsi-Cola North America spokeswoman.

Pepsi Chief Executive Indra Nooyi told Reuters earlier this week the company was considering such a move.

Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca-Cola Co's Dasani are both made from purified water sourced from public reservoirs, as opposed to Danone's Evian or Nestle's Poland Spring, so-called "spring waters," shipped from specific locations the companies say have notably clean water.

Coca-Cola Co. told Reuters it will start posting online information about the quality control testing it performs on Dasani by the end of summer or early fall.

"Concerns about the bottled-water industry, and increasing corporate control of water, are growing across the country," said Gigi Kellett, director of the "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign, which aims to encourage people to drink tap water.

San Francisco's mayor banned city employees from using city funds to buy bottled water when tap water is available. Ann Arbor, Michigan passed a resolution banning commercially bottled water at city events and Salt Lake City, Utah asked department heads to eliminate bottled water.

Critics charge the bottled water industry adds plastic to landfills, uses too much energy by producing and shipping bottles across the world and undermines confidence in the safety and cleanliness of public water supplies, all while much of the world's population is without access to clean water.

But industry observers said such opposition is unlikely to drain U.S. sales of bottled water, which reached 2.6 billion cases in 2006, according to Beverage Digest. The industry newsletter estimated that U.S. consumers spent about $15 billion on bottled water last year.

"Consumers have an affection for bottled water. It's not an issue of taste or health, it's about convenience," the newsletter's publisher, John Sicher, said. "Try walking up (New York City's) Third Avenue on a hot day and getting a glass of tap water."

Dave Kolpak, a portfolio manager at Victory Capital Management, said the environmental objections will have little impact on the bottom line for either Pepsi or Coke, though he admitted it could slow the market's growth rate.

"Pepsi and Coke do not make a lot of profit" on bottled water, said Kolpak, adding that people may talk about the issue, but will likely continue buying some bottled water. Victory Capital owns about 3 million shares of PepsiCo among its $62 billion under management.

Not suprised at all that its tap water. I would venture a guess most of the bottled water we hold in such high esteme isn't what we think it is. :-5 We have fallen for the bottled water scheme hook, line, and sinker..

I learned that Dasani is also from tap! My favorite water. I feel kinda betrayed. And I imagine all kinds of gross stuff in my water now.

Here is another one red. Propel fitness water is made with Reg water from yoor distribution center on bottle. Mine is Ill. I think they all do it.

I'm puzzled a bit about who "they" are in "They Done Lied To Us". Pepsi and Coca Cola certainly never did, their advertising has been scrupulously free from words like "spring water" from the moment they launched the products. Who lied?

I like those water dispensing kiosk things people set up in parking lots. 25 cents a gallon or something like that. people don't honestly think there's an artesian well or something inside that little hut, do they?? I'll bet that if a strong wind should blow it over you'll find a spigot and garden hose inside.

spot;669769 wrote: I'm puzzled a bit about who "they" are in "They Done Lied To Us". Pepsi and Coca Cola certainly never did, their advertising has been scrupulously free from words like "spring water" from the moment they launched the products. Who lied?


When Coke tried it here, the public perception that they had deliberately misled people forced them to withdraw the product.

Bryn Mawr;669808 wrote: When Coke tried it here, the public perception that they had deliberately misled people forced them to withdraw the product.


Mostly that was their utter folly of not checking the local purity standards and allowing a higher concentration of bromate than Food Safety inspectors would permit. Once they withdrew the UK stock and everyone realized it was filtered reservoir water there was a huge press-driven stink. Coca-Cola wanted Dasani on everybody's lips last month and it was - for all the wrong reasons. Coke dumped its new bottled water following a cancer scare and an unprecedented consumer revolt. In spite of Coke's claims that its 'NASA-approved reverse osmosis multi-barrier filtration system' created water so pure it was better than the real thing, consumers thought they were getting little more than Brita filtered water at 95p a bottle. When illegal levels of cancer-causing bromate chemicals were discovered, Coke had no choice but to recall 500,000 bottles and abandon the drink's launch.

The Dasani scandal has left Coke nursing a £25 million loss from cancelled production contracts and advertising deals. The damage to the firm's reputation is 20 times that figure, analysts say. The launch was an extraordinary gaffe for a company which has marketed its way to become the world's most valuable brand, worth $ 70 billion, and which has often joked that one day every kitchen will have three taps: cold water, hot water and Coke. 'Coke is a marketing company. Customers drink the image of youth and vigour it creates,' says Allyson Stewart-Allen, a London-based marketing analyst who was born in north America and has studied the rise of Coke. 'Anything that threatens that image strikes at the company's future - and you don't get much more threatening than selling tap water which turns out to be an expensive disaster.'

The crisis has left Coke drinkers and the company's many detractors pondering the same questions. How could a feel-good firm that boasts 2,000 customers a second - 200,000 in the time it's taken to read this far - create so much bad feeling? After introducing Diet Coke, Vanilla Coke, Sprite, and Fanta, not to mention buying the Malvern water brand, without the slightest PR wobble, how could Coke's UK executives get it so wrong?

The Observer, April 18, 2004

Do you know if that was limited to the UK, Spot? Or did they disperse that water worldwide?

Dasani was my favorite because it did taste fresher to me than others. It's not a prestige thing for me. We have terrible water out here, both well and city (I'm on well) and we buy bottled water routinely. We buy the cheapest by the gallon which is usually the store brand. Maybe it's just a mental thing, but the label stating that my water comes from a spring is more appealing than having it come from a municipal source. That puts in my mind an image of "gray" water and nasty substances floating around in it.

RedGlitter;669864 wrote: Do you know if that was limited to the UK, Spot? Or did they disperse that water worldwide?Solely the UK supply. It's expensive to ship water around between countries.

Dasani is more than just tap water, it is purified water. The main point is selling for convenience; it was never claimed as spring water or anything like that. There are so many bottled waters out there, the media just went after Coke in the UK because they are an easy target.

Those Bastards !

Exactly ACC what about the people that line up outside their grocery stores filling there empty gallon water jugs at the machine that says "Mountian Fresh Water".:wah: Coming to you right from the tap inside the store. Better of getting it off the shelf in the store, and least you aren't putting it up to that dirty nasty machine. :p

[QUOTE]I like those water dispensing kiosk things people set up in parking lots. 25 cents a gallon or something like that. people don't honestly think there's an artesian well or something inside that little hut, do they?? I'll bet that if a strong wind should blow it over you'll find a spigot and garden hose inside. [/QUOTE]

Honestly Im not suprised really.

From what I heard lately... There has also been the discovery that oils uded in the manufacturing process of plastic bottles for bottled water, are seeping into the product and contaminating the water. Health food stores are now selling bottles that do not have this problem, for people to put their water in.

I'm not sure how there could be a plastic bottle that didn't have some plasticiser transfer to the bottle's content. Without those shorter molecules the plastic's not pliable and it shatters easily. Plasticiser contamination always struck me as unavoidable. For a long time people assumed they were inert but then a class of them turned out to mimic the effect of hormones when consumed. Maybe the plasticisers still classed as inert just haven't been tested so much. Maybe the people who package in plastic just don't want to find out the real long-term cost.

i dont mind bottled water as long as its not too diluted :wah::wah: