The article in the url below reviews the evolution of environmentalists’ attitude toward bottled water:
“The rise and fall of bottled water may be the best case study yet in the strange politics of trendy environmental causes.”
First, bottled water was promoted as environmental progress. It was seen as a safer option to tap water:
“… no one did more to promote the bottled water craze than the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based activist organization that issued report after breathless report about the lethal dangers spewing from American taps.”
Bottled water was a healthy alternative to canned sodas and plastic bottles were presented as more environmentally friendly than glass bottles:
“Once upon a time plastic bottles made from lightweight polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, were an innovation meant to be relatively friendly to the planet. They could be stomped into thin discs, crushed by hand or even rolled up like toothpaste tubes, thus taking up a small space in landfills.”
Now, however, tap water is seen as safe and the environmental cost of shipping spring water from faraway places, such as Fiji, is seen as prohibitive (see an interesting article about Fiji Water at: http://earthfirst.com/mother-jones-unveils-the-greenwashed-truth-about-fiji-water/). Equally, the public perception of plastic bottles has also shifted:
“Now they are seen as bad in every way, choking the rising oceans and poisoning our precious bodily fluids with leaching carcinogens.”
I think the author is wrong, however, to conclude that “the rise and fall of bottled water” simply reflects a trend:
“One problem with fashionable causes -- whether for healthy living or a healthy planet -- is that the more broadly they are adopted, the less fashionable they become. Eco-chic isn't quite so chic when it becomes as common in Des Moines as it is in Marin County.”
It is difficult to implement societal-wide change—to push society in a direction that benefits the broader group, rather than individual self-interest. Unforeseen consequences often occur as a result. Both the introduction of bottled water and its phasing out were done with good intentions, and both decisions reflected our greater knowledge once the change was made. The worse mistake would have been not to adapt. My main criticism is that adaptation is often too slow and that individuals do not spend sufficient time educating themselves in order to make optimal purchase decisions.
Take care
David
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
Taste -- de gustibus: A Fashion Trend Meets A Watery Grave
By Eric Felten1000 words
7 August 2009
The Wall Street Journal
J
W13
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204313604574328983932173314.html