Archive for the ‘Not Very Funny Stuff’ Category

Coca-cola have launched an “innovative” new product in Japan - I LOHAS mineral water, a “new brand that brings together deliciousness with environmental friendliness”. Environmentally friendly mineral water? But isn’t that a contradiction in terms?

Now, to be fair, the product is making much more of an effort to be environmentally friendly than the notoriously horrendous Bling H20, but I still think that Coca-Cola is merely trying to tap into the current wave of environmental interest and concern amongst many consumers by jumping on an eco bandwagon.

Anyway, the product: I LOHAS mineral water combines water sourced from five locations throughout Japan, chosen for their superlative water quality. Fine. But it’s less about the water and more about the bottle. The newly developed, patented bottle is light - using “just” 12g of plastic for the 520ml bottle. And, in addition to “reducing the burden on the environment” by 40% (compared to previous figures for bottles of a comparative size), the bottle can be squished up easily, meaning that it takes up less space when recycled.

Okay. So it’s certainly better than no improvements at all. But the point remains that mineral water really isn’t great for the environment, full stop. The most environmentally friendly mineral water product would be the one that said, on the label - “don’t throw this bottle away, use it again! Fill it up with tap water, or filtered water, or even mineral water from a two litre bottle that you’ve got in the fridge. But whatever you do, don’t use me once and throw it away!”

I’m really with Giles on this one. It seems truly sad to me that those countries - and they are sadly fewer than you might think - that are lucky enough to have comprehensive, modern, working water systems that provide people with clean water in their homes, their offices, their restaurants, also seem to turn to mineral water as a luxury product. Mineral water will provide you with “great refreshment” - and tap water will not? Mineral water has been “filtered through volcanic rock” - but how does that actually benefit us?

I think in a lot of advertising, vague, pseudo-scientific claims are made, but not backed up with any hard, cold facts. And calling this product “good for the environment” is naughty, too. There’s nothing “good for the environment” about mass manufacturing mineral water bottles, be they 12, 14 or 160g in weight. At 12g, they’re perhaps “more environmentally friendly” than other brands of mineral water, but quantifying “good” probably doesn’t sound as good on the ad copy.

Anyway, perhaps I should applaud the effort. But I’ll still certainly not be buying a bottle next time I go to Japan, on an oil-guzzling, CO2-gushing, noise-and-air-polluting jet plane…..

http://www.wateraid.org/uk/

Oh dear. Seems everyone is feeling the pinch. And we’ll even have to pay more to drown our sorrows.

What we all need is something to cheer us up.