New research exposes predatory bottled water marketing tactics — and how the bottled water industry negatively impacts people and the environment.
Corporations Like Nestlè Are Wasting Your Money
In our latest report on the impacts of the bottled water industry on people and the environment, Take Back the Tap: The Big Business Hustle of Bottled Water, we’re taking a look at the bottled water industry’s predatory marketing, the extraction of communities’ water resources, and the powerhouse lobbying that has helped bottled water corporations see sales soar since 2010.
Industry marketing from corporations like Nestlè means that more people are buying bottled water than ever — even though about 64 percent of the bottled water comes from municipal water systems. That means that people buying bottled water are paying much, much more than they would for that same water from the tap. Bottled water is literally more expensive than gasoline — and about 2,000 times more expensive than tap water.
Bottled water companies profit from misleading advertising. People and the environment lose.
Predatory Marketing Towards Women and People of Color
Industry marketing strategies designed to promote the safety of bottled water to people who historically lack access to safe tap water (especially recent immigrants) prey upon those who may mistrust tap water and communities concerned about obesity and sugary beverages. In 2014, Nestlé spent over $5 million advertising Pure Life — the most advertised U.S. bottled water brand — and three quarters ($3.8 million) went to Spanish-language television advertising.
Read more on the website of Food & Water Watch