Selling Techniques - How Companies Make Us Buy Their Water

Originally, bottled water was created because fizzy-drink companies, such as Coca Cola's, growth projections started to level off, instead of increasing. They realised that it wasn't long until consumers started realising that fizzy-drinks are not actually very good for you, and started going back to tap water.

Because of this, these companies decided to create competition with their new enemy (tap water) and manufacture a rival product, bottled water. Obviously, the consumers were shocked and hesitant to drink and invest in this new product. Water was something that they were able to get for free in seconds, just by twisting a button - did they really need to walk to the shops and waste their money on exactly the same thing?!

The crazy companies managed to change our perceptions by doing one simple thing: manufacturing demand. This was done in a variety of ways...

1. Scaring People
A major part in the campaign of making people want bottled water was to tell them that tap water was dirty and unsafe, therefore making people insecure and worried about drinking tap water, and consequently chose to drink the "much safer" bottled water instead. “When we’re done,” one top water executive said, “tap water will be relegated to showers and washing dishes."

Recycling of Bottled Water

Although all PET bottles are 100% recyclable, most are not recycled. Consequently, plastic bottles are terrible for the environment!

As well as this, Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S.’s recycling rate for plastic is only 23%, which means 38 billion water bottles are wasted each year. This is over one billion dollars worth of plastic wasted per year.

Why We Like Belu Water

Unlike most bottled water companies, Belu water gives 100 percent of its profits to Water Aid.

Rachel Stephens is a former S club 7 singer and supports Water Aid and is working with Belu to try and promote their massive charity campaign.

Rachel says: "Many people don't have a choice about what they drink, but we do. We also have a choice of which bottled water we buy so I hope that the new wraps which I helped to make help Belu to stand out, so that people choose water that helps give other people a chance."'

I know that our whole website is about trying to make you believe that bottled water is all bad. But, if you are in the supermarket and bottled water is on your list, pick up some Belu and help to make a difference in some of the world's poorest areas.

 

Why It's Not As Healthy As Tap Water

Did you know that there have been 11 major bottled water recalls since 1990?

This just shows you how unsafe bottled water can be.

Phthalates

Phthalates are chemicals used in many plastics to make them soft or flexible. They are widely used in the plastic bottles which hold the bottled water, and there are a number of phthalates which can affect the health. Studies have linked various phthalates to cancer, miscarriage, premature birth, asthma and can alter hormones.

BPA

BPA is found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are often used in containers that store food and beverages, such as water bottles. They may also be used in other consumer goods. BPA can seep into food or liquids surrounded by plastics made by BPA, and this is a concern as it can affect the brain, behaviour and can pass onto foetuses.

The Impacts of Bottled water

FACT: In the US 1,500 water bottles are consumed every second.

Why is this bad for us?

The chemical used to make the bottle hard and clear is actually really harmful. If you consume it is said to sometimes lead to health problems such as cancer, brain problems and health problems in new born babies if consumed during pregnancy.

Why is this bad for the environment?
If you fill a plastic bottle ¼ full of liquid, this is about equivalent to the amount of oil used to make the bottle. It is also takes up a huge  of fossil fuels when it is transported. As well as this, we are actually just wasting water, as it takes three times the volume of water to manufacture one bottle of water than it does to fill it, and because of the chemical production of plastics that water is mostly unusable.
We found this out from an article by Norm Schriever on Huffingon Post: 

"Water bottles are made of completely recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics, but PETs don't biodegrade, they photodegrade, which means they break down into smaller fragments over time. Those fragments absorb toxins that pollute our waterways, contaminate our soil, and sicken animals (which we then eat)."

Bottled water survey

We asked four questions to our class about bottled water. Twenty people were interviewed and all in all, the survey produced some very interesting results. Here is what we found out:

Do you often use bottled water?
Yes- 9                                                       No- 11

 Do you feel that the taste of bottled water is better than tap water?
Yes- 2                                                No-15                                          N/A- 3

 Do you think bottled water companies should tell people more about BPA and harmful chemicals?
Yes- 17                                             No- 2                                        N/A-1

Facts That Will Astound You

How much more does bottled water cost than tap water? Is it really all that “healthy”? These are facts from the University of Nottingham website.

Britain consumes 3bn litres of bottled water per year.

Typically bottled water retails at up to 500 times more than the price of tap water.

The bottled water market is the fastest growing drinks market in the world.

The UK bottled water industry is worth ~£2bn per year

For 2007 it is estimated that 13bn plastic bottles of water were sold in the UK of which only 3bn were recycled

162g of oil and seven litres of water are required to manufacture a single one litre volume disposable PET bottle and this amounts to the release of 100g of carbon dioxide (CO2) a major greenhouse gas (GHG)