18 February 2016

Carry it consciously…

Jane Austin’s magical words - “It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.” 

Today we celebrate World Water day… a day to recognise the 74 percent of our earths surface. It’s the beauty of the world… the source of all life. In honour of this collectively conscious day, we share with you the story of water… in a bottle. 

Some know the history behind the making of the disposable bottle… too many don’t. The content of this polluting act is an eye opener…

Once upon a time... we lived in a world where consumerism was not the main drive. where value did not change. We foraged and consumed what was available to us... locally. 

We all know what happened next - evolution – demand - trade - power. 

We sailed oceans, discovering spices and sugars... the great coffee bean... food and goods became trade. Trade became currency and with that... power .

Was there a defining moment in time that we decided to bottle and transport water, the most widespread available resource we have? 

In chronological sense, when large beverage companies grew worried of its diminishing demand, the 70’s became their era... implanting the notion that water from our taps is unsafe. Whilst at first ridiculed, before long we learnt to trust things that came with a label... packaged... branded and brought to you from a hilltop village in the French alps... sourced with love by the company that cares...

Pure water... fine water... bottled water... has become one of the most successful marketing campaigns in history. One might argue that our toxins have permeated the soil through pollution... industry and the ever present use of chemicals - the water is unclean to be sure in small areas of our planet and ironically this is caused by the existence of factories such as meat processing plants and those emitting toxic fumes, e.g... bottled water manufacturers. 

Lets re-chew the facts - and see how clean or unclean that perfect bottled water really is. 

Most blind and scientific testing support the quality and taste of tap water. 

Until today, we never knew that bottled water is this dirty…For one Litre of bottled water we use AT LEAST three times the amount of WATER to make it, not to mention the fossil fuel used and greenhouse gasses produced. 

Then there is polyethylene terephthalate , the chemical found in PET plastic bottles - this can cause depression and dizziness in even the smallest doses, not to mention what happens in larger quantities... 

Worse yet, not a single bacteria will stomach these petroleum based plastics, and therefore its non-biodegradable property means the 100 million plastic single-use bottles we consume around the world daily, will be hanging around for a very long time... around 700 years.

So...

- The production of bottles in the US alone uses more than 17 million barrels of oil each year… this is enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year… and that doesn’t include the oil used for transportation.

-In 2006 alone bottling water produced more than 2.5 million tons of CO2 …

-Quantifiably the water from a bottle costs between 500 to 2000 times more than it would from the tap

Would we pay 1000 dollars / euro for a loaf of bread ? This is the impact every water bottle produced has on our environment and on our natural resources. 

We can make a choice, to NOT buy bottled water... it's actually that easy. When we are faced with one of the few international crisis’ we can control... LETS'S DO IT... 

It’s a vital step... enabling us to optimise our natural resources and stop creating more questionable ones. Those of us who can afford to buy bottled water are often also the fortunate who have access to said water from our taps... lets honour those who don’t have this resource ... lets not be a** holes and buy it…

A refreshing example is Germany’s second largest city, Hamburg,who recently initiated ‘the Guide to Green Procurement’ by banning coffee capsules and water bottles as well as other wasteful plastic disposables at the city’s public service providers - these being part of the 150 eco-friendly measures which aim to avoid public money being spent towards pollution. 

Follow their lead with good alternatives… reusable water bottles are functional and beautifully designed by people with the right intentions - which means we are also supporting young start up companies who create for a more sustainable world. This is cheaper and healthier for everyone and everything. 

Put your water through a filter if it is not as good as you’d like it to be - unless of course moving to the Swiss Alps or Norway is an option. Then definitely move there. They happen to have the cleanest drinking water on the planet ... 

Jessy X Stephana