Un-Bottled Water Hits the U.S.
by Jennifer Berry
Published on March 26th, 2009
5 Comments
If you’re an eco-conscious consumer and feel that small pang of guilt each time you purchase a new bottle of water, don’t despair – a new solution is rolling out. Plant It Water™ recently launched its new “un-bottled” spring water, with packaging made from more than 60 percent renewable materials. The company is one of the first in the U.S. to offer water in a recyclable carton.
Unlike plastic water bottles, Plant It Water packaging uses materials from sources like plant fibers. Tetra Pak, the maker of the package, is considered one of the most sustainable liquid food packages on the market and won the presidential medal for sustainable development in 1996 by former Vice President Al Gore.
Plant It Water cartons are sustainable alternatives to disposable plastic bottles. Photo: Plantitwater.com
“Today, only about 20 percent of plastic water bottles are being recycled, which is alarming when you consider more than 35 billion plastic bottles of water are sold in the U.S. alone each year,” said Plant It Water CEO Jane Goldberg.
Plant It Water also promises to plant one tree for every carton of water sold through an exclusive partnership with Trees for the Future, helping communities around the world with reforestation projects. Additional proceeds from Plant It Water sales will go to support A Single Drop, a non-profit dedicated to providing access to safe drinking water to people in developing nations.
Branching Out
The notion for Plant It Water took shape from the model Co-founder Steve Weisz developed at In Ticketing, a “green” event ticketing service that plants one tree per ticket sold for music festivals and events worldwide. In Ticketing has planted nearly one million trees through this program to date.
Cartons of Plant It Water first debuted at the 2009 Noise Pop music festival in San Francisco, Calif.
“We got nothing but positive feedback about Plant It Water. People love the mission of the company [...] and the packaging was a conversation piece among artists and attendees at all of our events,” said Julie Zelinski of the Noise Pop management team. This month, Plant It Water will be available at the Veg Fest and Green Festival in Seattle, Wash.
Rachael
posted on March 26th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Hi Jennifer,
Good article… and Plant It Water sounds like a reasonable product. I can’t help but wishing we could aim higher with bottled water (as in, not buying any ever) but perhaps a middle road is more reasonable…
TheLehman
posted on March 26th, 2009 at 7:56 am
What a great idea – I can go along with this one :)
Lori Brown
posted on March 26th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Jen, thanks for the article on Plant It water. They seem to be a great middle ground between plastic water bottles and reusable water bottles, especially at events and concerts where bringing in your own water bottle isn’t always allowed. I hope they come to events nearby soon!
Jennifer Berry
posted on March 26th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Hey Rachael,
Thanks for the compliment! I agree with you that not buying is the best way to reduce your impact overall, but at least this packaging is less depleting on resources and still provides the convenience of a bottle… baby steps, right?
Hi Lehman!
Yeah, it’s not too bad in terms of a “middle road” like Rachael mentioned. I’ll let you know if it comes to AZ anytime soon!
abetterenergyplan
posted on March 30th, 2009 at 8:45 am
wow what a great idea, and it is not your typical green-wash. Its nice to see a company that is looking to invest in the future of water sustainability considering that pre-packaged portable water and “natural spring” water companies are ruining the water-table. Good article and a great company!!!