Do you drink bottled water? Do you believe it is better than tap water?
Are we manipulated into spending our money on something that we do not need?
This week I would like you to watch two short films and present your opinion on the topic.
Discuss it with other course participants as well.
'The truth about bottled water'
'Fiji water piracy.'
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ReplyDeleteI think the biggest advantage of bottled water is its mobility :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a specialist but I love borjomi Georgian water.
I think the price is justified by the history of this water and of course taste. What is important its hard to buy original one, becouse UE regulations or something.
I think botteled water is product like any other.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that it is wrong to buy it, but I is is not first need product until we have tap water.As I said people could live without it, like without many other product like gummy bears or such.We have to remeber that it is big branch in industry and if it would be closed many people could lose their job. I think it is unfair to provide water even worse than tap watter, but more expensive.
I will stil buy botteled water, because I like sparkling water.
I found nice article about this topic http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/5-reasons-not-to-drink-bottled-water
What do you think about point 5? Could it be true or it is only fairy tail?
Natalia said: "I think botteled water is product like any other."
ReplyDeleteExactly. It's a product which has it's own parameters and values like other products. There are luxury bottles, best value bottles and cheap bottles. We can even find water bottles for specific groups of people, like water for active people, pregnant ladies. Its basically all the same H2O, but as every other product, has it's own additions.
Some of them, like Fiji Water, have nice background and people are willing to pay for this. The movie 'Fiji water piracy' shows us paradox where government is not willing to provide fresh water to every citizen, while their water sources seems to be greatly valued all over the world. But there's nothing wrong with that water business, Fiji Water employs 400 people in that country, represents huge chunk of income to their government and takes great part of countrys export (non alcoholic beverages accounted for 6,9% in 2009 alone, right after raw sugar cane and frozen fish). According to Fiji Water webpage and wikipedia company has estabilished a foundation to provide water filters to Fiji communities, so it doesn't seem so evil after all.
The first movie, on the other hand, doesn't actually tell that every bottle of water is worthless. What it actually shows is that people these days overvalue bottled water - in situation where they don't need bottled water they are still going to buy overpriced products and believe it's good for them. It's nothing new, and it's well known for advertisers, it's their job to create a demand for any product. Producers of that short film even simulate it for a while when they make fake luxury water in the restaurant. Where do we take that information about advantages of bottled water afterall? Scienctific press? Government research? Of course not, everyone takes them straight from commercials and while everyone know about "facts" in commercials most people seems to be forbidding to not trust in advertisments. While all of the products shown in the video are typical scams water industry is not the only one with cheap knockoffs, you can find them everywhere, the video just narrows view to some extreme examples.
Even I don't drink bottled water I still don't believe its a hoax. It's business like any other.
I've got an interesting story to tell about a local water bottling plant at some small town. The founder of this small company was just a regular neighbour of these people but he was smarter than the others. Of course well known brands like Żywiec or Kropla Beskidu were available there to buy, but people preferred the neighbour's water because it was a "local water", and it was literally local, because after years of running this business, some institution (i guess it might be some sort of UE inspection) came to test the water. The results were very surprising for the whole town and really bad for the founder of this local company. Inspection said the water from the test bottle was exactly the same as the local tap water, it wasn't even filtered. As i can remember, after all the guy had to close his company and had to pay his neighbours back. The moral of this story is that we are being manipulated, but this is life and this is how we live - someone's need is to create a new need in us that we will pay for. Personally i can't imagine my life in Warsaw without a bottled water.
ReplyDeleteThe videos and your opinions are very interesting .... I would like to draw you attention to two other aspects. In my daily work I meet people from different regions of the world from America to India and the Middle East. All persons traveling the world, that I know of, put a similar thesis: It is not worth the ill precarious drinking water source.
ReplyDeleteThe point is that some countries do not care about quality, or even not run campaigns on a large scale to inform about the threat. People are often coming to a new country do not wonder if the water is of good quality and in a location where they stop do not meet their unpleasant. Therefore, in most cases, they buy bottled water to be sure, and a little to calm their conscience, they will reduce the risk of disease. What's more, some of these people do not even share the bottles of water.
An interesting thing I noticed when I worked with people from India. They're drinking something from a bottle does not even touch his lips to the bottle, just pour water into the mouth to reduce the risk of disease. The world moves forward very quickly, but some regions are slower and poorer have to deal with the problems of everyday life. That is why so many people have learned to use the facilities available techniques and products on the shelves as possible to deal with the problems. Unfortunately, not all are concerned, there are people who do not have good water quality, and at the same time can not afford to buy bottles.
So on one hand we have the problems of everyday life .... dirt and germs that affect the quality of water, we can buy bottled water, or download it from a reliable source on the other hand we have the habits of people, marketing and advertising that instills people that bottled water is the healthiest. Just a residence that is the way it works and supply market. Everything would be fine if governments and organizations which benefit from the sale of water to earmark specific amounts of money to build wells for drinking water available.
I agree with Natalia, that water is a product like any other. And Łukasz said another important thing, that people overvalue bottled water.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's absolutely ok to sell bottled tap water- manufacturer just have to obey the law and honestly inform about the properties of the water they sell. Creating brand for a "ordinary" water is only submission to the principles of the free market. People catch on the same way as the other products-such as yogurt. Taste may vary, but the content is almost the same. If you want to pay extra money for a little difference in taste or for just feeling better that you have nice looking bottle- that's your decision.
Of course there are waters that have special properties- for example water from Kudowa Zdrój or other spas. But there on the wrapping you have listed minerals content, and such water you can buy also in pharmacies.
All you have to do to not feel cheated- think what you buy and read the label!
Well, it makes you think, doesn't it? Do we really need bottled water, cosidering that we have access to tap water? I, for one, don't think that we do, but there are few reasons why people are so attached to it - some just think that tap water isn't really that pure and for some the main advantage is it's mobility and the fact that you can get it wherever you are, because shops are almost everywhere. But that's just the way it is and though we don't need it as much as people in third world countries, I don't think anything is going to change in the near future, unless we change people's mentality, but I wouldn't bet on it. So basically, people could live without it, but on the other hand - yes, it's just another product, we can say the same thing about the food, we have lots of it, but there are countries where people are starving to death, so in the end is it really wrong to buy bottled water considering that we can't really do anything about it? Probably, but maybe we're just too lazy and that's what we want to believe? Maybe it's one of those "my one vote doesn't matter, because there are so many other people out there, and one vote won't change anything" situations?
ReplyDeleteWe are all just a bunch of lazy people and someone invented the way to please our lazyness. He/She earnes money for this and there is nothing wrong about that.
ReplyDeleteAs Przemek said the "biggest advantage of bottled water is its mobility". I don't have time nor energy to find tap water whenever i'm tursty an this is one of my wants(not a need). That is how business works. Grzegorz' story tells us that you can make tricks to sell your product but there are some boundaries.
I think that bottled water in Warsaw is better than filtered water from Wisla so I buying and I'll buy bottled water. Maybe in other european countries the tap water is as clean as We think should bottled water be. I also know that it can be tap water in bottled water which I'm buying, but when I buy bottled water I have a feeling that it's safe and clean water and I also think like Przemek, that biggest advantage of bottled water is it's mobility.
ReplyDeleteLike many of my friends,every time I go to the supermarket I get a case of water increasing my final bill by extra 30 zloty. My consumer choice is driven by cool bottle design and fancy label promising not only to quench my thirst but enrich my body and soul.Now I wonder if the bottle water is really so much better or is it yet another corporate trap that I so easily fall into? Moreover,noone ever died after accidentally swallowing some tap water in the shower.
ReplyDeleteThe issue is bigger than me, an average Joe, throwing money away on something available for free. As shown using Figi water,we are facing the global issue which shouldn't exist in the 21st century. 1/3 of world population still does not have drinking water and gets sick/dies because of that. Figi water is one of the many examples where the commercial product is supplied to the western world and the ones who supply it live without it. As usual,the poor people are forgotten and no one cares. Figi water needs to be taken accountable for its corporate action and address it. We are talking about human lives being at risk and people making money of it.
One thing I know for sure,I will start drinking tap water.
I think it's a very interesting topic and I regret that only now I listened and I read articles about this topic.I reflect on the switch from bottled water to tap water but I'll think seriously of buying a suitable filter system maybe waterbobble, it is certainly a huge saving and above all I will not poison the environment with hundreds of plastic bottles. Anyone who monitors the expenditure should be aware of the fact that 1 liter of tap water costs about 0.4 gr. Water in plastic bottles, unfortunately,is not healthy.
ReplyDeletePlastic is harmful, at best, uncertain. Convenience at the expense of not only poison the environment,but also your health.
In addition to the compounds very valuable for our body,also consume chemicals. PET bottle is one of the mostharmful products,to facilitate our lives. And here it is very suitable role: it is cheap, convenient,unbreakable, easy to transport and functional. All this is true, but it certainly
is not healthy.
Only few people know that one has got 24 hours to drink water after opening a bottle of it. Later on it's spoiled and you may as well drink tap water.
ReplyDeleteAlmost in every restaurant in countries I've visited there was free tap water served if requested. It's not weird or rude to order it - it's totally normal. Unfortunately I don't know why there's no such posibility in Poland. I just hope it's not because of water pollution. Maybe bottled water industry campaigns are the reason.
I drink a lot of tap water and hey, look at me, I'm still alive! :)
I know about this for couple of years now :), I cannot direct you to whole episode of Penn&Teller show, but here is the essence of it : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfPAjUvvnIc.
ReplyDeleteI strongly encourage you to see more of their shows :), you will see how much bull#@$ is around us.
I don't remember when I have started to drink a bottled water. But in a family house we always drank the tap water. Probaly that was my peer's infuence when I starded to live with them. I didn't think about it, I don't care what kind of bottled water I drink. Till today I thought if water in the bottle is expensive it must be good, but actually when I am outside I usually drink Kinga Pieninska's company water. At home I always use the filtered water. I use Britta type filter pot and also drink hot drinks like coffee and tea to which I use filtered tap water. Plastic is really bad I have to think about it when buying next botteled water.
ReplyDelete