For years now we have all loved bottled water
and it has been the fastest growing area of drinks in the world with a forecast
estimate of $215 billion by 2025.
Amazing isn’t it? A commodity that a lot of the
world can have, freely available from our kitchen taps, is selling for around
2000 times the price in the supermarkets and we are buying it!
Why
are we buying bottled water?
Well firstly, it is viewed as a healthier
product than tap water and in a lot of countries this may be true. However, in
those countries were tap water is perfectly drinkable, bottled water is still
selling in vast numbers. Perhaps we would not be so enthusiastic to buy if it
was more widely known that many bottled water brands are too acidic to pass the
stringent tests that tap water has to undergo, and the quality of bottled water
varies enormously.
Do you buy bottled water or spring water because
of the minerals?
Once again testing has
indicated to tap water has a relatively high concentration of beneficial
minerals like calcium and magnesium – more than most bottled brands.
Plastic
pollution.
Most bottled water brands are supplied in a
single use plastic bottle and with the current publicity about plastic waste,
and the millions of tons of landfill produced by bottled water bottles every
year, it is easy to see how these single use plastic products will lose their
appeal. They contribute to landfill and the vast majority are made from petroleum
which is a non-renewable resource.
Health
Far from being the healthy option to tap water a
recent study suggests that bottled water is one of the largest sources of
plastic micro particles. Although the long-term effects are not yet known it is
believed that bottled water is a significant contributor to micro plastic
ingestion which could, in theory, cause internal damage.
Further studies are taking place to examine the
effect on human health but such research and the publicity about plastics and
the environment is likely to have a damaging effect on bottled water sales as
those of us who can, turn back to tap water.Improving the environment
and your health; it’s a powerful argument to turn away from plastic bottles of
water.
Mayfair, we care.