On our last road trip, we noticed a fellow passenger drinking from Arrowhead’s new eco-shaped bottle. If we had been drinking from it when we learned just what eco-shaped meant, we would've surely sprayed everyone with backwash. Fortunately for everyone in the car, this didn’t happen until we returned home and saw Arrowhead’s TV commercial patting themselves on the back.
We get it, Arrowhead. It’s 30% less plastic. Great. Every little bit helps, right? Well, every little bit hurts, too. We still have 70% unnecessary plastic to deal with here. Sure, we could recycle it, but its environmental impact will simply be disguised in another shape before hanging out in a landfill forever. In short, your innovation is still a turd.
Bottled water companies should be freaking out right now. People are starting to realize that tap water ain’t so bad, especially with a filter on it. And many customers are willing to pay for it or bring it with them.
Thanks to companies like Sigg and other companies who are making more responsible alternatives, there’s no real reason for anyone to pay the consequences for bottled water anymore.
So what does this mean for bottled water companies? For plastic bottled beverages in general? Three words: Innovate. Or die.
Start using a sustainable bottle, one that can be upcycled instead of downcycled. If you're not happy with the ones that already exist, create one.
Rethink the bottle all together and use a bladder, like Park City Ice Water Company did.
Get into the water filtration business like Brita.
Create your own sustainable "to-go" containers.
Build more water fountains. Add flavors. Make them coin-operated if you have to. If there was more access to water, we might not have a need to carry it everywhere with us.
Bring back fountain vending machines! Before can and bottle vending machines, there were fountain vending machines, ones that would magically drop a cup and fill up with the hot or cold beverage of your choice. Today, everyone could simply refill their own designer bottle or buy one on the spot.
In some neighborhoods, there are still vending machines and retail stores where you can refill large containers with purified drinking water. Perhaps someone can build on this concept or simply add the option for smaller refills. Few would have imagined the Starbucks or Pinkberry phenomenon. A water shop franchise might not be so crazy after all.
Or maybe bottled beverage companies need to...Your turn. Yeah, you.
  
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