Boxed Water is Better for the Earth
90% of Container made from Trees sourced from Renewable, Ethically Managed Forests.
20% of Profits to Water Relief & Reforestation Foundations.
Recyclable in Most Areas.
Launched this year, Boxed Water is set to make a splash with its claim that is ‘better for the earth’.
Currently only available in the US, well, only in Michigan really, will boxed water take over the world?
It sure has the Aesthetic draw and is a definite conversation starter.
For now, it seems that most comments have been split into 2 camps.
Critics are up in arms over how its ‘Blatant False Green Marketing‘ and often insist the only true ‘better’ way to consume water on the go is to pick up a SIGG bottle and install a Quality Water Filter on your home tap. (They have also been thorough and point out that as a start-up, the company will probably not be able to makes its “20% of Profits” donation for a while)
Window Display at Lamb
Supporters gush over its design, bold typography, the fact that it is a step in the right direction and how it raises awareness about sustainability just by being, well, in your fridge or in your hand.
I personally love the idea of the product and am a big fan of how unlike plastic (unless its BioPVC) it is actually biodegradable. Can’t wait for it to arrive in Europe!
(Afterthought: These cartons could encourage Reusing among consumers who have been shying away from refilling their bottled water containers for fear of releasing Carcinogens)
More at: Ambrose, Swiss Miss, The Die Line, Lovely Package
Other EvolvingChoice Posts on Bottled Water: Fiji Water: Food Miles Greenwash?, Fiji Water: World’s 1st Carbon Negative Water
Ridiculous. Packaging water anywhere in developed nations is a complete waste of time, energy and money (not to mention water).
If tap water is really so bad (and i’m inclined to agree that it is) perhaps it’s time we started lobbying more consistently and effectively to ensure we ALL have access to safe drinking water.
Private enterprise and the health conscious consumer have borne the brunt of ineffectual policy decisions for far too long.
Surely it’s about time we did something about this?
Boxed water is only comparatively better for the earth. Packaged water of any description is unnecessary and harmful.
It’s critical that as we lay the foundation for eco-responsibility we get it right. What’s landed us here in the first place was a lack of foresight on the forefathers of the industrial revolution. We need to ensure we are evaluating the long-term unintended consequences of our eco-choices now – because what may appear eco may be not so much.
The first commenter above is spot on.I’d like to add that the amount of pollution caused by creating paper packaging is more than 4 times that of plastic. See this analysis by the Washington Post for a side by side comparison of paper versus plastic bags. http://bit.ly/Tk1Y6
Plastic is so bad because people lack responsibility. The key to getting eco right is ensuring the public understands their impact and takes personal responsibility for how their actions effect the environment around them, not substitute packing. Plastic was actually a substitute created to replace paper because the eco footprint of paper is so devastating from pollution to chopping down forests. There’s only so much FSC to go around and it takes years to replace a tree.
Hip marketing efforts like these only damage the message the environmental/”green” movement is trying to send. Greenwashing now risks the public becoming “eco” fatigued and dubious of the entire movement, which will ultimately prevent this movement from becoming an ethos that we all live by and instead make it a fad that will disappear just as quickly as the next American Idol winner. I hope we can all get it right together.