Comments on: What’s the True Environmental Cost of Fiji Water?

By: Wat kost een flesje water echt?

Wat kost een flesje water echt? — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:37:20 +0000

[...] De productie van een lege plastic waterfles (1l) kost ongeveer 5 liter water [...]

By: Pablo

Pablo — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:07:33 +0000

Click on the link in my previous comment to see a satellite image of the supposed Fiji bottling plant. It doesn’t really look anything like on the bottle…

By: Pablo

Pablo — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 02:03:54 +0000

View Larger Map

By: Jake

Jake — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:28:19 +0000

Ive been living in Fiji and it has over 30020 Islands and 25% of all those Island arent habated that means no one lives there and the population of the country right now is 800,000!!Just Imagine a small place like that with a small population,Its product is famous all over Hollywood!Plus its the only source of cleanest water in the world away about 200,00000 kilometeres from any factories!

By: Dee

Dee — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 13:51:17 +0000

I know that I am comming at the end of a very important discussion, and my comments may never be seen because of the impact of the first few weeks of posting and the interest that always subsides a few weeks after a question is posted but here it goes for all who keeps interest.
One: The water treatment plants are already built, running most updated, and insure safe water for their consumers, who has put the deposit on the bottles (sewage, waste, and water managment systems). Most of these systems are already paid for; now we are putting money toward forgien markets for water that is just as safe as water from our taps. So all the money spent goes now towards processing water the figi way to pay for their equipment for their city, when a simple cheaper up grade may be available if the Figi water is refined better than our local cities. Thus when the water is spent in forgien markets, although transportation costs are job generating for our people to get the water to the local markets, it is about the only plus here.
TWO: Water is a presious commodity, if we decide to neglect the cleaning of our water, up grading our systems, or employing people in our area to supply this presious commodity, because we like the Figi Water more, does that give us licence to not clean our water and continue the degregation that sent the consumer to the forgien markets?
THREE: If we pull in the bottles, not just the water, pay our nickel or dime for deposit, or not, and it goes to our recycling systems, or waste land fills, who is responsibile for the management of the plastic after use of a forgien marketing system?
There are many more aspects of this than just likeing the Figi or any other forgien marketed bottled water, when we are able to apply this money to our systems to achieve the same quality of water to consume. Our equipment and water stops being processed and the degregation of local supply deminish to a point that even recreation, food (fish), natural filtrations systems are all effected because the monies are given to a forgien market. I have personally tasted the Figi water, it is good, as good a water goes, but this also does not exclude the tampering with the water bottles that have been getting thinner and thinner and more apt to tampering other than the seal cap for you protection. etc, etc, and there is so much more!

By: John Mashey

John Mashey — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 23:05:26 +0000

Penn & Teller on bottled water (13 minutes), not science, but fun, from the BS series:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfPAjUvvnIc
Blind taste tests of NY water versus bottled water.
Water menu & tasting in Los Angeles restaurant, utterly priceless.
Everest Water … from Corpus Christi, TX Municipal Water Supply…

By: cam balkon

cam balkon — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 08:59:46 +0000

just drink the water and shut up….if you’re really that worried about the environmental aspects of the fiji water, you wouldn’t be drinking it in the first place…

By: portrait artists

portrait artists — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 05:54:25 +0000

I was a bit scared upon knowing that Fiji gets its bottle from China. Here in our place, a lot of products from China have been banned. Toys made from China are reported to contain lead. There are canned goods that contain worms, cockroaches and other yucky stuff. And have you heard about the Menu Foods issue? Now, here comes one great tasting and thirst quenching products that takes its container from China. Isn’t this a bit alarming?

By: magazin

magazin — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 08:29:14 +0000

The bottled water issue is not going away. I am from the small town of McCloud in far northern california. Nestle, one of the largest multi-nationals on the planet is attempting to hijack our community water supply to enhance their own bottom line.
The bottled water industry has done a phenomenal marketing job. They have convinced the gullible masses that it is better to pay exorbiant rates for a public resource that is available to the masses at a fraction of the cost (both environmental and in dollars). This discussion focuses on Fiji brand. The much larger issue is the bottled water industry itself. Are we, as a society, going to let a life-sustaining, public resource become commodified by a handful of greedy corporations? Are we going to consume absurd amounts of energy and oil to produce a toxic (PET) by-product that clogs our landfills (the vast majority of it is not recycled). Or are we, as a society, going to marginalize bottled water the same way that we marginalized tobacco, asbestos, lead paint and DDT.
The choice is ours. Boycott bottled water.

By: sinema

sinema — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 08:25:17 +0000

By: kozmetik

kozmetik — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 08:23:24 +0000

The real problem is that in most parts of the world, the U.S. included, is that only an idiot would drink the tap water (anyone who wants to refute this claim needs to drink the tap water in central/south florida), so what are we to do, I myself drink the 0.69 cent gallon jugs of drinking water from the grocery store (just because it tastes slightly better than my swimming pool water, which in turn tastes better than my tap water) , my wife on the other hand refuses to drink anything but EVIAN, to me this is insanity, and considereing the state of the economy I highly doubt Ill be able to afford our house and her EVIAN(which to me is right up there with FIJI and movie theatre popcorn)in another year or so when were all stuck in the midst of a great depression unlike the world has ever seen. THats why its time to move out into the woods and dig a well (just dont tell my wife)… anyway, if any of you wackos want to complain about my runon sentences , go right ahead, just heed these words, WATER PURIFICATION TABLETS, cause pretty soon were all gonna need them, and desperately… anyway those of you who dont think so go right ahead, we need to thin out the herds anyway, you all have a good day now, and dont drink too much water

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:19:18 +0000

Thanks for the post! I somehow missed this and wouldn’t have known without your post. I heard about it on boagworld.com’s podcast but I’ve been following your work since the late ’90’s.
Thanks for all your hardwork and your recent book. It’s been a great addition to my library!

By: Tapeten

Tapeten — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:56:37 +0000

Thanks for very interesting article. btw. I really enjoyed reading all of your posts. It’s interesting to read ideas, and observations from someone else’s point of view… makes you think more. So please keep up the great work. Greetings.

By: diyet

diyet — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 17:05:55 +0000

Wasting 6 times of 10 times as much water to produce drinking water that may not be as bad at all running in your water lines is being insensitive to the environment. I’d recommend installing water purifiers in taps, which is not only cheaper but also has very little carbon footprint.