This is a genuine question… I cannot imagine tap water not being safe in most developed countries, so perhaps we’re just really lucky here in England (and most of Europe), but why would anyone buy bottled water?
So we can use factories to mfgr bottles out of oil, and then we can throw them away? Job security for the oil industry?
One word: marketing. Which in turn may lead to peace of mind.
While the idea of bottled water doesn’t bother me, the idea that you always have to have your own personal supply of water does. Some places don’t have the best water, even here in the United States. For example, every week my mom would fill up a few gallon jugs of water at my grandmother’s house, where she also did the laundry. The water where we lived, wasn’t exactly the best around. From what I’ve heard, it’s nowhere near as bad now (the lake’s been cleaned up a lot) so most people don’t have to buy or bring in water from elsewhere.
Bottled water doesn’t come cheap. Sure, a bottle or case may not cost a lot (depending on size and brand), but if you’re drinking several bottles a day of the “regular” stuff, it adds up and some pay more for the “better” stuff. We have a vending machine at work where all the items are $1.50, which includes green tea and water, along with Pepsi products, where 10¢ is the deposit and people are willing pay that price for it all.
Note, I live in Michigan, which does place a deposit on mineral water, but not bottled (non-carbonated) water. Some of the other states do.
Water filters at home provide the same thing for most people, minus the bottles, BPA (if that’s a concern for you) and possible contamination (like the e. Coli here). There are even reusable bottles that can filter on the go and there are other methods that are being used around to world where the water’s safety is more questionable, such as the straw like device that delivers nearly pure water while sipping.
If you’re going to be traveling, bottling some water isn’t a bad idea, nor is buying some. But to always be nursing a bottle of water bought at a store or delivered to you?
This is a genuine question… I cannot imagine tap water not being safe in most developed countries, so perhaps we’re just really lucky here in England (and most of Europe), but why would anyone buy bottled water?
So we can use factories to mfgr bottles out of oil, and then we can throw them away? Job security for the oil industry?
One word: marketing. Which in turn may lead to peace of mind.
While the idea of bottled water doesn’t bother me, the idea that you always have to have your own personal supply of water does. Some places don’t have the best water, even here in the United States. For example, every week my mom would fill up a few gallon jugs of water at my grandmother’s house, where she also did the laundry. The water where we lived, wasn’t exactly the best around. From what I’ve heard, it’s nowhere near as bad now (the lake’s been cleaned up a lot) so most people don’t have to buy or bring in water from elsewhere.
Bottled water doesn’t come cheap. Sure, a bottle or case may not cost a lot (depending on size and brand), but if you’re drinking several bottles a day of the “regular” stuff, it adds up and some pay more for the “better” stuff. We have a vending machine at work where all the items are $1.50, which includes green tea and water, along with Pepsi products, where 10¢ is the deposit and people are willing pay that price for it all.
Note, I live in Michigan, which does place a deposit on mineral water, but not bottled (non-carbonated) water. Some of the other states do.
Water filters at home provide the same thing for most people, minus the bottles, BPA (if that’s a concern for you) and possible contamination (like the e. Coli here). There are even reusable bottles that can filter on the go and there are other methods that are being used around to world where the water’s safety is more questionable, such as the straw like device that delivers nearly pure water while sipping.
If you’re going to be traveling, bottling some water isn’t a bad idea, nor is buying some. But to always be nursing a bottle of water bought at a store or delivered to you?