The production and consumption of bottled water contributes to waste, pollution, toxins, and the bottled water industry’s interest in controlling our water resources. As a result of these negative impacts, many people have vowed to stop buying bottled water. If you have successfully ditched bottled water, and want to stay involved in the anti-bottled water movement, there are two campaigns you can join.
By Kara Boden
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2010 CONDUCIVE
Take Back The Tap, and Think Outside the Bottle focus on taking collective action in our communities against the ever-growing issue of over extraction, pollution, and privatization of our water resources by the bottled water industry.
These campaigns allow individuals to take their involvement to a whole new level. Along with boycotting bottled water, these campaigns create a variety of other ways to stay involved. Contacting elected officials, signing petitions, and educating the public are all approaches that take direct action beyond the individual level. Refusing to buy bottled water is a good start, but a collective approach is more powerful in creating large-scale change.
Besides the basic campaign strategies, communities are finding other ways to get involved. Some restaurants are refusing to buy or sell bottled water in their establishment. This single act of boycotting sends powerful messages throughout the community. It raises awareness that bottled water is an unnecessary convenience, and reminds the public that tap water is just as safe, and in some cases safer, than bottled water.
Take Back The Tap and Think Outside The Bottle both challenge the bottled water industry, raise awareness, and help bring individuals and communities together to work on protecting our water resources. It is these small actions that can reap big benefits, and ultimately redirect control of water from the bottled water industry to communities.
Kara Boden is the Associate Editor for Conducive. She graduated from Central Michigan University where she majored in Sociology, and minored in Biology.
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