"bottled water" news and stories

Photo: travelbex, Flickr.

Bottled water just got even snobbier.

Enfant terrible (bad boy) of French fashion Jean Paul Gaultier has designed his own glass Evian bottles, due to be released in 2009. Secretly? I love this. They have pretty snowflakes. Other reasons:

1. I can't afford very many Jean Paul Gaultier things, and here we have a solution for when I need to feel fancy and also need to pay rent.
2. They are a great host's gift for when you're going to a dinner party at the home of non-drinkers.
3. Glass bottles, so, you know, your insides don't get Saran Wrap'd.

A case of Christian Lacroix (current featured designer) Evian bottles is $118 on the website, so I expect the Gaultier bottles will be around the same price.

Seven special Evian Haute Couture Bottles will also be made, and auctioned off to benefit the Evian Water Protection Institute. Click here for more information.

Source

For a while now, bottled water has been both prevalent and controversial -- whether prompting discussions of the differences (or lack thereof) between bottled and tap water, or reminding us of the extreme waste involved with neverending hordes of plastic water bottles.

Of course, that means that this is the perfect time to get flavored bottled water for our dogs -- they won't live long enough to see the impact! Did you know that there is a brand called FortiFido that offers flavored waters to not only hydrate your canine, but also help their bones, breath, joints, and skin?

Now I'm all for a little perk for man's best friend, but must we encourage more waste when it would be so very easy to offer this stuff as powder, soluble tablets, or gel to be put in the water of your choice? Think of Fido's children, and his children's children!

[via Accidental Hedonist]

There has lately been a lot of negative pressure on bottled water producers. A lot of attention is being focused on the environmental impact of the bottles and transportation, as well as the possibility of wasting a natural resource. Environmental groups and government officials alike have been working to get consumers to drink tap water from reusable containers.

The three biggest bottled water producers in England have gotten together to form the Natural Hydration Council to fight back. One goal the Council has set for itself is "to undertake new research and communicate the facts to ensure fully informed consumer choices."

According to the article, the European bottled water market has actually grown over the last few years and is expected to stay healthy, so the Natural Hydration Council seems to be more of a preemptive strike and more of a response to what's happening in the US. What do you think of the new bottled water council?

I think it's so strange that a tobacco company is making a supposedly breath freshening bottled water. That's what a Japanese firm is doing, though.

According to Trends in Japan, Japan Tobacco has come up with this product, which is geared for men (it actually has "for men" printed on the labeling). I guess all the cigarette smoking is causing a nation-wide masculine bad breath crisis. Hmm, I guess Japan Tobacco wants to be the solution as well as the problem.

I guess this situation is not so strange after all. Do know of any other companies with problem/solution products?