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Aquafina to Clarify Water's Source

By Martinne Geller,
Reuters
Posted: 2007-07-28 04:05:59
Filed Under: Money
NEW YORK (July 27) -- PepsiCo Inc. will spell out that its Aquafina bottled water is made with tap water, a concession to the growing environmental and political opposition to the bottled water industry.

According to Corporate Accountability International, a U.S. watchdog group, the world's No. 2 beverage company will include the words "Public Water Source" on Aquafina labels.

"If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do," said Michelle Naughton, a Pepsi-Cola North America spokeswoman.

Pepsi Chief Executive Indra Nooyi told Reuters earlier this week the company was considering such a move.

Pepsi's Aquafina and Coca-Cola Co's Dasani are both made from purified water sourced from public resevoirs, as opposed to Danone's Evian or Nestle's Poland Spring, so-called "spring waters," shipped from specific locations the companies say have notably clean water.

Story Telling Kit

Which of these bottled water brands do you prefer?

  • Aquafina
  • Poland Spring
  • Evian
  • Dasani
Coca-Cola Co. told Reuters it will start posting online information about the quality control testing it performs on Dasani by the end of summer or early fall.

"Concerns about the bottled-water industry, and increasing corporate control of water, are growing across the country," said Gigi Kellett, director of the "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign, which aims to encourage people to drink tap water.

San Francisco's mayor banned city employees from using city funds to buy bottled water when tap water is available. Ann Arbor, Michigan passed a resolution banning commercially bottled water at city events and Salt Lake City, Utah asked department heads to eliminate bottled water.

Critics charge the bottled water industry adds plastic to landfills, uses too much energy by producing and shipping bottles across the world and undermines confidence in the safety and cleanliness of public water supplies, all while much of the world's population is without access to clean water.

But industry observers said such opposition is unlikely to drain U.S. sales of bottled water, which reached 2.6 billion cases in 2006, according to Beverage Digest. The industry newsletter estimated that U.S. consumers spent about $15 billion on bottled water last year.

"Consumers have an affection for bottled water. It's not an issue of taste or health, it's about convenience," the newsletter's publisher, John Sicher, said. "Try walking up (New York City's) Third Avenue on a hot day and getting a glass of tap water."

Dave Kolpak, a portfolio manager at Victory Capital Management, said the environmental objections will have little impact on the bottom line for either Pepsi or Coke, though he admitted it could slow the market's growth rate.

"Pepsi and Coke do not make a lot of profit" on bottled water, said Kolpak, adding that people may talk about the issue, but will likely continue buying some bottled water. Victory Capital owns about 3 million shares of PepsiCo among its $62 billion under management.

Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-07-27 09:23:39
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3055 comments

ralph9285 09:09:09 PM Jun 13 2008

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This isn't right!!!!!

robmts 04:34:00 PM Aug 03 2007

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There is going to be a bottle deposit on water bottles in the future.More people need to recycle these instead of just throwing thm out.

martigrac 01:23:47 AM Aug 02 2007

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I've tried every water on the market and Aquafina is simply the best. I had a water filter installed in my home and from 1-500 (500 being the worst as far as water quality goes), Aquafina rated somewhere between 1-10. Sams Club water rated 35. The rest rated above 50.

Vedderman077 03:41:27 PM Jul 31 2007

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Why isn't there a return deposit on bottled water like on soda bottles? That would help keep the enviroment much cleaner I'm sure. I like both tap water and bottled, but the bottled water is just much more convienient especially where there is no tap water around. You people should stop complaining about how bad tap water is, there are many places that have it much worse. Anyway, ice cold tap water here tastes the same as bottled and you can't even tell the difference,

mbestfrnd 02:21:17 AM Jul 31 2007

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People should just read the lable. It states very plainly that the water comes from a municiple water supply.

susietcb 11:00:41 PM Jul 30 2007

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I will personally always prefer Aquafina over other brands...I've researched it and its good water and tastes great also...

Bestseller29335 02:43:46 AM Jul 30 2007

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GOD IS QUEER HE SUCKED MY DI_K LAST NIGHT

Bestseller29335 02:43:45 AM Jul 30 2007

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GOD IS QUEER HE SUCKED MY DI_K LAST NIGHT

Bestseller29335 02:43:43 AM Jul 30 2007

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GOD IS QUEER HE SUCKED MY DI_K LAST NIGHT

atkn39 02:20:53 AM Jul 30 2007

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a report on tleevision identified aquafina as having come from the Detroit River. I don't care how much they purify it, I don't drink it anymore.

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