Nestle Videos a Spin Job to Compensate for Wasteful, Unnecessary Product
2009-10-16
Contact:
Kate Fried, (202) 683-2500
Nestle Videos a Spin Job to Compensate for Wasteful, Unnecessary Product
Statement of Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director,
Food & Water Watch
Washington, D.C.—“Yesterday, Nestle Waters North America announced the release of a series of videos aimed at consumers touting among other things, the so-called ‘safety’ of its plastic water bottles, the advantages of plastic bottles over glass bottles, and its own corporate efforts to promote recycling programs. While Nestle is promoting these videos as part of its ongoing ‘dedication’ to ‘environmental stewardship,’ we see them for what they really are—damage control to compensate for the company’s recent 2.7 percent decline in sales.
“The videos attempt to emphasize the benefits of bottled water. Yet the fact remains that bottled water is no better than water from the tap. Reports by Food & Water Watch reveal that the federal government requires far more rigorous and frequent testing of municipal drinking water than bottled water—as many as 300 times a month. Meanwhile, the government requires that companies test for bacterial contamination in bottled water only once per week. According to a Natural Resources Defense Council study of 103 bottled water brands, about one-quarter of the brands tested contained bacterial or chemical contamination in some samples at levels that violated ‘enforceable state standards or warning levels.’
“While the videos also emphasize Nestle’s attempts to encourage recycling, studies of consumer behavior reveal that only about 25 percent of all plastic water bottles are actually recycled. The rest end up in landfills where they remain indefinitely, leeching chemicals into the earth. Furthermore, while recycling itself is a worthy undertaking, experts agree that consumers should instead make attempts to reduce their use of natural resources. Bottled water undermines that principle both in the oil it takes to produce the plastic for its bottles, and in the water it uses to fill them.
“More and more people are realizing that bottled water is an unnecessary, wasteful product—one that drains resources from the environment and money from consumers’ wallets. Communities too are rejecting bottled water, resisting attempts by Nestle and its ilk to set up bottling operations to pump and profit from local water, and passing resolutions to ban the use of municipal funds to purchase bottled water.
“Food & Water Watch looks forward to a day when bottled water is rendered obsolete. Until then, we will continue to oppose Nestle’s efforts to profit off this essential natural resource.”
Food & Water Watch is a non-profit organization working with grassroots organizations around the world to create an economically and environmentally viable future. Through research, public and policymaker education, media, and lobbying, we advocate policies that guarantee safe, wholesome food produced in a humane and sustainable manner and public, rather than private, control of water resources including oceans, rivers, and groundwater. For more information, visit www.foodandwaterwatch.org.