Consumers Demand Coke Reveal Water Source

08/11/07 Corporate Accountability International and its regional partners are leading a national day of action asking Coke to reveal the source of its Dasani brand bottled water. Coke is a leading producer of bottled water in North America and has worked to block passage of consumer right to know laws on the state and national level.

"If Coke can pay for the ink to write 'crisp, fresh taste' on its Dasani bottles, it can certainly afford to print 'Public Water Source' on its bottles, too," said Gigi Kellett, national campaign director for Think Outside the Bottle. "There is no reason Coke cannot meet the bar Pepsi has set by agreeing to give consumers basic information about the source of its water."

In response to consumer demands, industry leader Pepsi has agreed to print "Public Water Source" on Aquafina labels. Coke has not followed suit. Coke has also refused to publicly report on the health and quality of its bottled water in ways required of public water systems.

"Consumers are taking the product out of the packaging," said Sister Sharon Dillon, president of the Franciscan Mission Service Board. "Water is a public resource and basic human right. Tricky marketing and glossy labels have turned God's gift of water into a high-priced commodity."

Last week Dasani received a Bad Product award from Consumers International for "pushing marketing into the realms of the ridiculous" for packaging water from the same source as the tap.

The reality is corporations, like Coke, create a market for their products by casting doubt on the quality of tap water. Bottled water is, in fact, subject to less regulatory scrutiny and, in the case of Dasani, comes from the same source," said Tony Clarke, director of the Polaris Institute and author of Blue Gold.

The current demands on Coke are part of what NBC Nightly News has called a "growing movement" to think outside the bottle. In mid-October mayors, restaurant owners, celebrities, faith groups, students, and national organizations launched the Think Outside the Bottle Pledge calling on cities and individuals to choose tap over bottled water. Thousands have taken the online pledge as pressure continues to mount on corporations that bottle public water and sell it for hundreds of times the cost.