As consumers have been inundated with such novelty items as blessed water and bottled tap water, it's hardly surprising to hear that the latest fad to catch on β perhaps in light of upcoming World Water Day β is boxed water. Boxed Water Is Better, the brainchild company behind the idea, bills itself as "part sustainable water company, part art project, part philanthropic project, and completely curious."
Because it's made from sustainably harvested trees and ships flat, the water has a lower carbon footprint than bottled water. The company also donates 20 percent of its profits to water relief and reforestation foundations. I think the concept is a great one, although I have to wonder, wouldn't drinking filtered water from the tap be best for the environment?
Tod's
i'm on the fence about this one. i like the concept, but i'm not sure that water is a 'box' beverage..ya know?
1I think that of course drinking tap water is better for the environment, however this is not targeting those people. There are always going to be bottled water drinkers and this product is for them. Those that already drink filtered tap water of course wont be interested, but then they are not the point here.
2"Better" for the earth is too ambiguous a term. I only dump motor oil into Lake Michigan every other month, so I'm *better* for the earth than my neighbor, who does it every three weeks. Great...
3I could go either way with this. I like that they are trying ad 20 percent of their profits go to charity, but I'm not sure boxed water is better for the earth.
4I like to see my water. The box is a bad idea.
5I'm with you Dana18
6Makes me think of milk, and milk is gross to me.
7I wouldn't mind... I don't think, and it looks like it has a smaller carbon footprint, and that is good, so yeah, I'd buy it if it was comparable in price...
The reason we buy pre-packaged water is that we get a health warning from our water company that says "may cause cancer" so we don't even drink the filtered tap water.
8Agreed, yum, why wouldn't you just drink from the tap?
9Sure boxes are better than plastic because they biodegrade, but consider the amount of energy and resources that goes into making the boxes and then transporting the water. Drink locally β it is much better for the world. Invest in a Brita or a faucet filter if you're worried about the quality of the water.
10I think it's hilarious! Bottled water is really convenient, I hate to admit that I drink plenty of it. It won't catch on though, they're a square box in a round cup holder world.
11Just buy a decent filter for your faucet and drink the tap water...most tap water's better regulated than some bottled waters that are out there. Besides, wouldn't the water taste like cardboard?
12I can see the benefits and think it is better than using plastic bottles butI have a Brita water filter that I use and have my own refillable bottles. You can actually buy containers that fit into a cupholder and allow them to hold cartons. A friend of mine who is mad for iced coffee, it is more popular than coca cola where I live, has an insert for her cupholder that allows the carton to sit without spilling.
13Boxed water a novel idea but where is the carbon savings the water or the box?
As far carbon sucking trees which produce and grow rapidly reducing your cost of operation for the project you might consider paulownia. It has excellent remediation powers for the environment.
For more information on paulownia and how reforestation with it may help your business you may read www.paulownianow.org
14Interesting.
On a side note, when I was in elementary school (back in the early 90's), we had milk bags. Did anyone else have them? They were little plastic bags of milk and they were supposed to cut down on waste. They were...interesting, to say the least. We even had an assembly on how to properly use your milk bag.
15lilkimbo--You totally reminded me of the water we got in El Salvador! We had to drink bottled water all the time and one day, we forgot to bring our big cooler of water to the clinic site so we stopped at a bodega and bought a bunch of "water baggies". Each one held a half liter of water and we were amazed at how little room they took up. I remember thinking someone in the States should try to market something like that.
16I am a bit confused as to how this could be considered more environmentally friendly. First of all, they are using virgin paper, rather than recycled paper. That's an obvious one. Plastic is stronger than paper so you clearly have to use more material. It is made 90% from trees, the other 10% being... plastic! because you have to line the boxes with something or else it will just leak everywhere. I suppose it could be a bag in the box where the paper and plastic could be separated but the pictures they have do not look like it is. Last time I checked recycling places don't really like laminates because there are only a few options. 1. put it into a product like composite decking that can take it or 2. find a way to separate the paper and laminate and recycle them separately (there aren't any out there but anyone wants to invent one then you'll have a customer) 3. manage to get some of the paper off and toss the rest
So unless i missed something this idea pretty much sucks.
17Some woman was on Ellen who sold boxed water, just didn't get it.
18I can't hate or love anything I haven't tried. I'd check it out, though.
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