Nestle: Chummin', Not Chuggin'

Great news, clean-ocean lovers! Nestle foods, who controls one-third of the bottled water market, reports a 5% drop in sales of bottled water. Niiiiice. Not the 50-100% reduction that we were hoping for, but a start is a start.

National Public Radio's Marketplace reported it yesterday, and if the numbered estimate is Nestle's numbered estimate, we can probably tack on a couple of extra percentage points. (wink) Nestle's brands span the likes of Perrier, Poland Spring, Ozarka and (get this) Pure Life... Listen or read the article at the Marketplace website.

Speaking of Poland Spring, seize the opportunity to see the new film about bottled water, and the bottles they come in - it's called Tapped. We've mentioned it here previously. It not only details how Nestle commandeers, free of compensation, local aquifers across the state of Maine, it also shows some simple "experiments" - like washing them in a dishwasher - on plastic bottles that yield some unhealthful outcomes. The film is currently touring around the country and the creators make it readily available (for a small rental/showing fee) to groups interested in spreading the word on the foibles of bottled water.

Glug, glug, glug...