Greenland Wants To Bottle Iceberg Water
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden 
on 09. 6.08
photo dsearls @ flickr
It's no secret that TreeHugger isn't fond of single-use bottles of water - there seems no trapping of modern life easier to let go of, when municipalities spend oodles to make most tap water clean, and reusable bottles come in every size and color - there are even some cool ones aimed at getting kids off the one-use bottle!
Icebergs become 'high-end' bottled water
But we all seem a bit slow to get the picture - growth for the global soft drink and bottled water market is still growing around 4% annually. In fact, in Fiji (source of the famous, er, infamous Fiji bottled waterj) marketers are asking the government for financial assistance in an increasingly competitive market. And on the other side of the globe in Greenland, a consultant named Dorthe Lund Kaack told the Danish Berlinske Tidende newspaper that next spring Greenland Home Rule government would begin bottling water from an island spring, and thereafter drilling it out of icebergs floating near the coast, for export to fancy water markets (Los Angeles, Tokyo said the article). The government stressed that production of this 3 to 10,000-year old water was "sustainable." Hit the jump for more ironic water facts about Fiji.
Iceberg water is not entirely new - Berg (ha ha), a company in Newfoundland, bottles Arctic water from icebers off the coast and sells it for a very pretty penny - nearly $100 for 24 half-liter bottles. And 10 Thousand BC "luxury glacier water" comes from (the company says) 10,000-year-old ice from glaciers (for fewer pollutants). Watch this Forbes slide show of the world's most expensive waters to see how ridiculous it can get.
Back to Fiji, where the bottled water industry has become an important business, employing 700 people and bringing in $150 million per year. A BBC documentary showed that a third of Fiji islanders don't have access to clean drinking water, and still fall ill and die from related dirty water diseases such as typhoid. The government announced a tax on bottled water, but aborted after pressure from water bottlers.
Via ::Copenhagen Post
Read more
Just Say No to the Waiter Peddling Bottled Water
Greenwash Watch: "Green" Bottled Water
A World of Reasons to Ditch Bottled Water
Lipstick on a Pig Dept.: Fiji Water Goes Green
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Bottled water is like organic food, a status symbol people are willing to shell out big bucks for even though there are completely safe, cheap alternatives.
Funny, I see a Fuji ad on Treehugger right now.
I guess treehugger needs to make money too and it does not care were it comes from.
Yes, bottled water is a fad. I can see bottled water for trips and things, but bottled water for everyday at home use is waste. If water is that bad at your house, I would suggest getting the larger 3 or 5 gallon jugs of water where the bottles are recycled. (Hmmm, we are told not to reuse the bottles, but it is ok to reuse the jugs which are also plastic).
As for "Berg" water at $4 a bottle for 24 ounces, which is about $20 a gallon, these are the same people that complain about $4 gasoline.
But to each their own, if you need "Berg" water to make you feel rich, or it pumps up your ego, great, go for it, someone is making a lot of money off of you.
Now for the real issue, how come I didn't think of and patent "Berg" water. Maybe I can bottle water from Loch Ness and call it Loch Ness Monster water, or Angel Falls water, or Niagara Falls water. It is all about the gimmick, the sales pitch, and the hype.
Thank you for this article. One note on accuracy: the source article estimates the water's age to be 1,000 - 3,000 years old. This article on Treehugger says 3,000 - 10,000 years old. I'm just wondering if there are any other sources for this article other than the Copenhagen post where the older dates might have come from.
Also, EcoWorldly together with ViroPOP videos has teamed up with another post on this story at http://ecoworldly.com/2008/10/27/bye-bye-bottled-water/ .
Thanks!
-Gavin
-------author replies ----------
Hi, Gavin:
I did look at quite a few other sources for the article, as it was quite difficult to find web sites for the companies or entities mentioned. I can't supply and overall authority for the age of the water, however.
Thank you for this article. One note on accuracy: the source article estimates the water's age to be 1,000 - 3,000 years old. This article on Treehugger says 3,000 - 10,000 years old. I'm just wondering if there are any other sources for this article other than the Copenhagen post where the older dates might have come from.
Also, EcoWorldly together with ViroPOP videos has teamed up with another post on this story at http://ecoworldly.com/2008/10/27/bye-bye-bottled-water/ .
Thanks!
-Gavin
its so funny
Great post indeed! did someone know that As for "Berg" water at $4 a bottle for 24 ounces, which is about $20 a gallon, these are the same people that complain about $4 gasoline.
would like to have your water in my private label
would promote Greenland water; my idea is to have aprivatelabel for distribution in retail markets throughtout the U.S.
thank you for your consideration