Almost two-thirds of bottled water in the US comes from tap water

Almost two-thirds of bottled water in the US comes from tap water, costing the consumer 2,000 times more than tap water, according to a recent report.
The report from NGO Food and Water Watch highlights the marketing strategies used by bottled water industries when selling a product that is supposed to be purer than tap water.
Large beverage companies are now using bottled water as the main source of profit in the US and as a substitute for declining soft drink sales.
Such market strategies are designed to promote the safety of bottled water for people without access to tap water, particularly recent immigrants, the report finds.
They also include groups that mistrust tap water and communities who are concerned over obesity and the sugar levels in drinks.
In 2014, Nestle invested more than $5 million in advertising their US bottled water brand, Pure Life.
About three quarters ($3.8 million) went to Spanish-language television advertising.
“These water barons not only prey on distrust of tap water, but they also help reinforce that distrust through lobbying to enact policies to keep the bottled water profits flowing,” added Ms Hauter.
They ended up as litter, in landfill or were incinerated.
The report concluded by recommending that people choose tap water instead of bottle water and that Congress increase funding in the US`s drinking and wastewater infrastructure.

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