Annie Leonard - The Story of Bottled Water

The main argument of this video is bottled water versus tap water: why is it that we buy bottled water when we can tap water for free? The reason why people buy bottled water, and more importantly why the bottled water industry even exists at all, is because companies have created what is known as ‘manufactured demand’. This is the concept the companies have essentially created this artificial demand within the minds of consumers, forcing them to believe that bottled water is far better than regular tap water and is a necessity. After some testing was done, results show that with a blind taste test, the tap water actually tastes better than the bottled water and is more pure. An interesting fact is that some bottled water companies just used filtered tap water anyway so it is almost no different to what comes out of a tap. 

Bottled water costs 2000 times more than tap water but it is still sold more than a quarter billion times each week in the US alone. This manufactured demand was originally created using scare tactics telling the community that tap water was unsafe and that bottled water was necessary. The end result is one of the most environmentally damaging products in the entire world. At every stage during the product lifestyle, it is harmful to the environment. During production, it is damaging the environment through the use of chemicals and oils in producing the bottles, and once the bottles are used, they 80% are turned to local landfill  in most ways it is less regulated and even though it is 2000x the cost, it is still sold a quarter billion a week in the US. Manufacture demand - make people buy things they do not need at all. They used to scare people into being WITHOUT the bottled water. Bottled water is one of the most environmentally damaging products in the world. All throughout the production process, it is damaging the environment. 

Another method of disposal is sending shiploads of used bottles to India where they are being downcycled. In the end, they all end up being thrown out regardless. A billion people don’t even have access to water yet the companies are spending millions to try and take away our right to clean, free water and create a manufactured demand that realistically, nobody wants or needs.