Should bottled water be marketed as a "health product?"

Should bottled water be marketed as a "health product?"

Can you remember what the last advertisement you saw for bottled water was? If you're remembering snowcapped mountains, a lush tropical oasis, or a sweaty high performance athlete, then you're probably not be far off. While bottled water may not contain any calories or artificial sweeteners, one wonders if the companies behind them should be able to market their contents--water--as a health product.

bottled water is being marketed as a health product

While it need not be questioned that water is the elixir of life, we simply wonder if we need all the "health food" marketing tactics. As bottled water sales have recently surpassed that of soda, the big corporations have dialed their sights. With health trends on the rise, these massive companies have begun sending the message that bottled water is the only answer to quenching your thirst. But in fact, about 64% of most bottled water is actually just plain old tap. And what what really is happening is that these companies are buying our biological necessity to drink water. 

According to Food and Water Watch, "[Big companies] bottle water for percentages of cents per gallon, sometimes without permits (and often against the wishes of nearby communities), and sell it for enormous profit. They encourage distrust of tap water, even though that’s essentially what they are selling us"

And we all know the harm and damage to our environment that these millions of single-use plastic bottles are doing to our environment. 

So, what do we think? Skip the bottle and filter your tap!