Fiji Water sends an S.O.S. to the world.

Untouched by man. 

That’s the message fed to consumers of Fiji Water. The artesian spring water sold by the company was created in a volcanic aquifer far away from pollutants, so Fiji Water Co. claims. But to bring the pristine water to market, man is involved at great lengths. From plastic bottle manufacturing to the bottling process, to the transportation involved to export, import and ship water to stores, a vast number of resources are consumed—all for a product that, at least in the United States, is arguably a luxury item given the United States’ relatively clean tap water supplies.

Spurred by increased awareness around climate change and the waste produced by the bottled water industry, many stores and consumers are refusing to ignore the environmental impact of bottled water companies such as Fiji. My Organic Market (MOMs), a grocery store chain in Washington, D.C., recently announced plans to ban all bottled water products not sourced and bottled locally. And numerous mayors have banned the use of bottled water at city events.

Fiji Water is responding in a big way. The Los Angeles-based company announced in 2007 it would become a “carbon negative” company, a first in a fast-growing industry under increasing scrutiny for its adverse environmental impact. The company promised to purchase enough annual carbon offsets to cover 120 percent of its carbon footprint—a calculation that includes the creation of the source material for its bottles (plastic pellets made in Thailand)—while working to reduce its overall footprint by 25 percent over the next three years. Nearly one year into its commitment, it shows signs of swift progress.

Yet no matter how impressive its efforts, many consumers continue to criticize the overall sustainability of an industry that relies on turning a fragile water resource into a commodity [see “A spring has sprung,” Sustainable Industries, Sept. 2006], and relies on the petroleum industry to bottle and ship that commodity. Groundwater depletion from bottled water, as well as soft drink, companies has long been criticized by social justice advocates, most notably Indian author Vandana Shiva, who writes in her book “Water Wars”: “Water is a commons. …It cannot be owned as private property and sold as a commodity.” More companies such as Fiji Water are tackling corporate social and environmental accounting, and purchasing carbon offsets is a viable, yet often scrutinized practice. But many question whether the extraction of natural resources—whether water, oil, natural gas or any number of things—and the act of shipping them across the globe is a sustainable way to do business.

Every drop is green
Americans annually drink 36 billion bottles of water—from small individual bottles up to office cooler size—according to the most recent figures available from the Beverage Marketing Corp. (BMC). In 2007, the bottled water industry created $11.6 billion in sales and grew in volume by 6 percent from 2006, according to BMC.
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