Glaceau “Smartwater” and the war on water
December 10th, 2007
So, it seems as though the ubiquitous “smartwater” is waging a war on regular water. Indeed, I got a copy of some crappy magazine called “Movies Rock!” with last weeks The New Yorker. The magazine is stuffed with advertisements, and a few terrible articles about music and movies.
The advertisement on the back of the magazine, and another inside, featured dull Jennifer Aniston for “smartwater”. The copy on the first reads:
What do you drink for purity? It’s dirty out there. Smartwater makes water the way nature used to, but in a totally pure environment. 100% pure water.
What an incredibly snide little snippet from their copywriters. And, of course, they conveniently leave out the fact that in their “making water” process (they must have some groundbreaking process of merging atoms to create totally new water) they use tons of energy, petroleum (for the plastics and transportation), and water itself!
Inside the magazine, a perhaps even more obnoxious little paragraph:
What do you drink for taste? The the swimming pool stuff. Or the tap. Or even the stuff from the ground. This water is pristine. Was never swum in or fell through the sky near the airport. It tastes the way nature intended. Clean. How smart is that?
Pristine? Ah, yes, but with lots of damage to the environment and everything else to make it pristine.
What’s the point in attacking “tap water” (and doesn’t THEIR water actually come from the tap, but then is purified via reverse osmosis or some crap??), especially when the tides are turning against such foolish consumption as bottled water.
The fact of the matter is that bottled water is hugely wasteful, in terms of energy, pollution, oil, disposal, and more. Now, it would be one thing if we didn’t have access to clean water. But 99% of the people reading this site probably do… and it is simply outrageous that a company starts attacking the viability of our local sources of water to help sell it’s product. (I have heard lots about this on NPR and other sources, but couldn’t find a good link to document the problems with bottled water… can anyone help?)
So, if you MUST drink bottled water, won’t you please consider NOT buying “smartwater”?
Related posts: Reasons I hate the New York Times, Plastic bags = not that bad, Biofuels = stupid idea
10 Comments Add your own
1. Matt | December 11th, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Got it. No Smart Water. But you should boycott The New Yorker. Talk about wasteful… I’ve been a subscriber in the past, and I can tell you, a lot of that paper is going to waste.
2. DeveloperZero | December 12th, 2007 at 12:33 am
While I agree with your attack on the “Smartwater” campaign (and any of those fecicious, bullshit claims on water, especially all the so-called “spring water” or the evian type things), I’d have to disagree with your general attack on all bottled water as bad. While general consumption by most people of bottled water is unneccessary, there are cases where the drinking of bottled water is not just good, but necessary.
Case 1) Katrina (or any other natural disaster). Most of the drinking water was contaminated, and the choices then are either bottled water, or no water.
Case 2)”Third World” countries(I know this doesn’t directly apply, since this is mostly a rant on American consumption of water) Much of the water is not fit for consumption, and there aren’t exactly massive water treatment plants everywhere (although bottled water probably isn\’t the BEST solution, it can be useful).
Case 3) Hard water. I personally live in an area without hard water, and when I traveled across country a few years ago, I got sick within days because of drinking tap water. We had to buy a whole case of water just so I had something to drink on the trip. There are people like me who have medical conditions (I have an intestinal disorder that is NOT pretty), who either drink filtered water (such as bottled water) or no water at all. Mosty places in the United States don’t have the same standards for so-called “tap” water, so it isn’t exactly accurate to lump all “tap” water in together (that applies both to you and the bottled water corporations).
3. Slate | February 16th, 2008 at 9:11 am
You is paying you the OIL Companies, you lie to much get a real job
4. angela | February 20th, 2008 at 10:17 am
The tap water in Savananh GA where I spent my childhood is high in chemicals and the people there have been told to drink bottled water if they are kids, very old, have kidney problems, or other health concerns. Not to mention that is smells like fish.
All tap water is not safe for drinking, even here in Sanford NC, a couple of years ago the same problem with the water was announced, to much chemical treatment.
Another good reason to drink bottled water, vitamin and or electrolites. Alot of us are on the go and don’t have time to eat as healthy as we should. Now that we have the choice of vitamin and or electrolite water this may help. And let’s face it, bottled water even the plain one is better than soda.
5. if you only knew | March 10th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
If you knew what was in tap water or what was in spring water, you would be appalled. Vapor distilled and then re-mineralized water is a fantastic thing. Tap water contains traces of prescription drugs, chlorine, and the mother of em’ all fluoride, which is essentially chemical waste, if you know anything about chemistry.
As far as the negatives of bottled water, all the negative studies speak of bottled water that has is missing the electrolytes that are placed back into smart water.
6. Biffton | March 10th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Seems like Glaceu wins this argument.. Tap water is garbage, they just found drugs in it.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/03/10/pharma.water1.ap/?iref=hpmostpop
7. Lynda | March 10th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
They\’re snide but you make comments against bottled water. Our water supply is already polluted. Most water in most countries is not good enough to drink from tap. Are you kidding me? Is someone a little sheltered? I live in Southern California and you can see the crap floating around in our tap water. I ran out of bottled water one time and made tea and refilled my aquarium with tap. Aside from the floating particles it made me sick to my stomach and killed my fish. And this is NOT a third world country. Try to imagine what the water is like in less developed places.
8. Amanda | April 15th, 2008 at 12:28 am
A little late in the comments I see. But I felt the need to contribute. I am 8 weeks away from graduating with a BS in Civil Engineering with a concentration in water resources and I can vouch for how poor most bottled water is. Smart Water tested one place out of many, and of course they report only one, they want more people to buy their products. Most bottled water is tap water. For all of you living in imagination land, check their sites. Most bottles or websites say “FPS” meaning from public source. The regulations a chemical limits on tap water are much more harsh and regulated then some bottled water. If you’re curious about your city’s water quality, you have the right to contact your city and ask for the test results that are taken on a regular basis. If you’re still worried, buy a brita and let the water sit for 24 hours to get rid of the chlorine. As for the flouride, dentists are actually worried that children will get more cavities now that they are drinking less tap water. The levels of flouride are minimal and not harmful. So for all those who are trying to be healthy and drink safe water, most of you are better off with the tap. An article you may want to look at, about how much energy and water is wasted from bottled water, as well as its quality: http://www.rd.com/special-reports/the-environment/rethink-what-you-drink/article51807.html
9. MS | May 16th, 2008 at 4:28 am
I live in a rural area where there is no water treatment available, so we have a well which is incredibly high in sulfur and other nasty elements. It is filtered enough for bathing, however our only choice for drinking water has been to purchase bottled water for 20 years.
As for SmartWater, I discovered this about a year ago and have to admit it definitely seems superior to other brands I have purchased. I always attempted to stay away from any that were just jugs of tap water, as they always have some plasticy taste and dubious purity. We started to used a Pur filter even with ‘purified’ water just to be on the safe side. I have many stomach issues which drinking too much water encourages, however the SmartWater seemed to put an end to it. I suppose I needed just that little bit of electrolytes to do the trick. And the taste is brilliant. I dont think I ever noticed water to ‘taste’ as good as it. So, Im definitely sold for now unless someone can obviously prove that SmartWater is detrimental.
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