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Think Outside the Bottle

Challenge Corporate Control of Our Water

One of the most visible examples of corporate control of water is bottled water. It is the fastest growing sector of the US beverage market and is a $55 billion a year business globally. Just three corporations, Nestlé, Coke and Pepsi, make-up almost half of the US bottled water market and in the last ten years, the consumption of bottled water has doubled. Right now, in the US, over half of the population drinks bottled water. Read more about the bottled water industry...

Q: But bottled water is cleaner, healthier and safer than tap water, right?

A: Well, not exactly. In fact, most people don't know that ¼ of bottled water is actually tap water anyways--like Coke's Dasani and Pepsi's Aquafina--which these corporations resell for huge profits.

The Corporate Cover Up

Big corporations are misleading consumers by telling us that bottled water safer and heathier than tap water. The fact is that bottled water is less regulated than tap water--and in some cases is less safe, containing elevated levels of arsenic, bacteria and other contaminants. So, as these corporations profit off our water, they are undermining support for our public water supplies, which could pave the way for corporate privatization of our public water systems.

Think Outside the Bottle: Challenge Corporate Control of Water

Our Think Outside the Bottle campaign is a direct challenge to the marketing muscle of bottled water corporations. Over the last ten years, corporations have spent tens of millions of dollars to convince us that bottled water is cleaner, healthier, safer and more pure than tap water.  It's time to pull back the curtain and reveal the truth about bottled water.

As with each of Corporate Accountability International's previous campaigns, the first phase is a massive public education drive. A lot of people don't even realize that there IS a water industry. That's why we're starting by exposing the dangerous reality behind the image of bottled water, and mobilizing people to demand that these corporations stop their irresponsible and dangerous actions.

If corporations control our water, they can decide who gets it--and who doesn't. Decisions about a life-giving substance and a fundamental human right must not be left to corporate shareholders and executives unaccountable to the public.

The Tap Water Challenge: Pitting bottled water against good old tap water!

The Tap Water Challenge was developed as a way to educate and engage our fellow community members about this critical corporate accountability, human rights and environmental issue.

We are turning the tables on the bottled water market with our Tap Water Challenges. People take a blind-folded test that pits pricey bottled water against good old tap water--and most find that they can't tell the difference!

The Tap Water Challenge has taken place in cities across the country this past spring, directly involving thousands of people and reaching millions more through over 75 news stories! This summer, we are quenching people's thirst for challenging corporate control of our water with our Tap Water Challenge Organizing Kit.

Download your organizing kit today and get your community to 'Think Outside the Bottle!'

What You Can Do:

• TAKE ACTION: Tell Coke, Nestlé and Pepsi to stop misleading promotion of their bottled water brands and to stop interfering in policies that protect our water. Click here to take action.
• SPREAD THE WORD: Organize your own Tap Water Challenge and get people in your community 'thinking outside the bottle'. Click here to download your kit today.
• GET INVOLVED: Community groups are leading the way in challenging the bottled water industry. People around the world are taking actions to pressure abusive corporations. Become a member or our online activist network today. Click here to sign up.
• LEARN MORE: Read more about the abuses of the bottled water industry and the growing threat of the corporate control of our water. Click here for more information.