The Hidden Cost of $40 “Bling Water”
Simran Sethi and Sarah Smarsh are writing a series on the impacts of everyday things.They will be posting previews on Green Options before launching the posts on Huffington Post. Here’s the low-down on how we’re quenching our thirst.
We’ve been seduced by the beverage industry into believing only they can quench our thirst with colored, caffeinated, vitaminized, electrolyted water. We have become so parched that we can’t walk down the street without toting a single-use plastic bottle touting the magical effects of its water source.
Apparently, Kabbalah Water will heal us and Bling Water will define us. At the Bling H20 website, Bling Water “creator” Kevin Boyd describes noticing on Hollywood studio lots that “you could tell a lot about a person by the bottled water they carried.” First of all, didn’t god create water? Secondly, the water is bottled in Dandridge, Tennessee - since when is Southern Tennessee a spring of L.A. status? Yes, Dandrige’s water ranks very highly on EPA’s water quality index, but why are we spending so much money ($40 for Bling’s “Go Green” 750ml bottle) on cross-continental water instead of cleaning up our local waterways? Tinseltown’s water is so polluted with run-off and industrial contamination that perhaps water by way of Tennessee does make sense.
Here’s what the less blingy among us do:
- » See also: The Ethics of Selling Crop Seed: Part 1
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- Work to identify problems at the source, pushing for the protection of wetlands.
- Reduce the amount of toxic junk we flush down and rinse away (including pharmaceuticals).
- Lobby our local officials to protect our source water.
- Use it sparingly: in the yard, in the house, everywhere
- Carry our own bottles (Coated aluminum is Siman’s preference, Sarah goes with BPA-free plastic) and proudly fill up at water fountains and taps.
Read more at the Huffington Post.
Thanks to the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Lacey Johnston for research assistance.
My English class discussed Bling Water and the implications. As part of the assignment, they recorded their responses. Here they are:
Water is water - just because you bling out the bottle doesn’t make it any better!
Bling water is a scam. Why should people pay $20 to $40 for water when water is basically free. The only difference between Bling Water and tap water is bling water comes in a fashionable bottle. People can spend money on this stupid product if they want, but I won’t.
Why would pay $40 for water from Tennessee? It’s all about the looks and bottle - that makes people want to buy it. Not everybody sees through this advertising and marketing sham. But we do.