Among water brands, Fiji Water is the green elite's top drop. Its sleek square-sided bottle design is synonymous with ecochic, and it's beloved by Mary J. Blige, Paris Hilton, and even President Obama.
But as Anna Lenzer reports in a must-read Mother Jones story, the water giant has a dark side:
Nowhere in Fiji Water's glossy marketing materials...will you find the fact that its signature bottle is made from Chinese plastic in a diesel-fueled plant and hauled thousands of miles to its ecoconscious consumers. And, of course, you won't find mention of the military junta for which Fiji Water is a major source of global recognition and legitimacy.
Our exposé struck a nerve with readers (check out the comments on Lenzer's story) and showcased the dilemmas of a "green" business. We invite you to continue and broaden the conversation below, in this week's live online forum. The question: "Does America's favorite imported water legitimize a dictatorship?"
To get you started, we asked:
- Anna Lenzer, author of the Fiji Water exposé
- Tom Lauria, international bottled water industry rep
- Nick Aster, TriplePundit green business blogger (and former Mother Jones media architect)
- Rob Six, Fiji Water spokesman
Their answers are posted after the jump.
(Fiji Water spokesman Rob Six declined to participate, but did post a response in the comments on Lenzer's article, which MoJo reprinted and responded to here—click this link to read the exchange.)
What's your take? Leave a comment below to chat about Fiji and bottled water with our panelists—and each other. Have any burning questions for Fiji Water exposé writer Anna Lenzer, bottled water industry expert Tom Lauria, or ecobusiness blogger Nick Aster? Now's your chance
--
<Epi.D
SWM
www.solivakasama.org
No comments:
Post a Comment