Opinion Published on 8 Mar
Bill Bruce
Canadian students to quit bottled water for a day
Bill Bruce is group editorial director of FoodBev Media
If lobbying activities are successful, students across Canada will celebrate ‘Bottled Water Free Day’ on 11 March. Partnering with the Polaris Institute, the Canadian Federation of Students and the Sierra Youth Coalition are taking a stand against the bottled water industry and the privatisation of water.
According to the group, “Bottled water is an estimated $100bn a year industry that only 10 years ago was little more than a novelty market. Thanks to smart marketing, bottled water is now considered to be a necessity, replacing water fountains in community centres, schools and office buildings.
Loyal consumers hate being told what to do and how to behave
“Buying bottled water is increasingly the only way to quench your thirst in public. Fortunately, smart consumers are beginning to understand that they have been sold a bottle of goods.
“More than 70 municipalities, six school boards and three campuses across the country have phased out the sale of bottled water. That’s the spirit behind Bottled Water Free Day.”
The organisers are urging students across Canada to “Join the global movement against bottled water. Visit bottledwaterfreeday.ca and take the pledge: ‘I pledge not to drink bottled water where public water is available’.”
So why would I draw attention to this on the channel of a website that regularly focuses on the packaged water industry?
Well, if you’re in the industry, it’s worth taking a few moments to visit the campaign site and see for yourself what you’re up against. You’ll recognise much of the distorted ‘evidence’ and misaligned facts – and frankly, there’s nothing there that we haven’t all seen or heard before.
I’m going to see what coverage the day actually receives and then I wish I could be a fly on the wall in any Canadian campus in the following weeks. The portability, convenience and great taste of bottled water is a good, low calorie, hydration habit.
My guess is that, on the day, a lot of students will join the campaign. In the days and weeks that follow, I’m also pretty sure that most will return to carrying their bottled water. The industry’s success is due in part to great products, high quality and smart marketing, but also to offering consumer choice, and loyal consumers hate being told what to do and how to behave.
While I’m sure a lot of tap water will be consumed in Canada next Thursday, I’d also guess that for those missing their bottled water, compensation will come in the form of increased consumption of soft drinks. Let’s hope they’re mostly zero calorie!
jan bender
The fact that somebody is spending a lot of their own time and resources to organize a bottled water free day sends an important message to all of us in this industry. Think about it for a minute. Why bottled water and not Coca-Cola or beer? A bottle of Coke contains as much “publicly owned” water as a bottle of water. Plus, it makes you fat and eats your teeth and emits tonnes of CO2. So does a bottle of beer.
But here we are, producing the healthiest and cleanest beverage you can get, and still people dedicate their life to fight us on an ethical agenda.
I think it’s crucial for the future of this industry that we try to understand the psychology behind these unreasonable campaigns which appear to appeal to leading-edge consumers. And once we understand them, rather than dismiss them for being irrational, meet them where they are and defend the ethics of what we do. If that requires some of water producers to do some housekeeping first, then the campaign has done something good already.
Jan Bender, chairman, Iskilde Aps
Posted 9 Mar 2010 1:06pm
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