One Down; How Many More to Go? Fiji Water to Leave Fiji

If you bottle the water outside of Fiji, is it still Fiji Water?

While we Westerners think of Fiji as an idyllic tropical destination with pristine beaches and turquoise waters, the real story of the remote South Pacific island is a much different reality. As TIME reported in September, the tiny island has been under military rule since a coup in 2006, its press is muzzled and it's economy has declined due in part to sanctions imposed by the European Union and its neighbors, Australia and New Zealand.

The latest twist in this saga involves the high-end water brand of the same name. Fiji Water announced Monday that it is shutting down operations in Fiji after the government proposed an “extraction tax” of 15 cents a liter (up from one-third of a cent). The proposed tax hike comes just one week after David Roth, Fiji Water director of external affairs, was deported for allegedly interfering in the domestic affairs and governance of Fiji.

In the company's statement, Fiji Water President John Cochran said they are hoping to work with the junta to resolve the tax dispute, which he called discriminatory as it only applies to their company (the only company in Fiji that bottles more than 3.5 million liters a month). “The country is increasingly unstable, and is becoming a very risky place in which to invest,” the statement said.

Fiji Water, which sells their square-shaped water bottles in more than 40 countries, said hundreds of Fijians would lose their jobs as a result of their decision to leave the country.

Source: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/11/29/fiji-water-to-leave-fiji/

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Concord, MA to be First U.S. Town to Ban Bottled Water

Last week residents of Concord, Massachusetts voted to ban the sale of all bottled water by next January, making it the first U.S. town to take such action.

The effort was lead by Jean Hill, an 82-year old activist, who lobbied neighbors and officials alike on the consequences of plastic bottles filling landfills and polluting local waters. "All these discarded bottles are damaging our planet, causing clumps of garbage in the oceans that hurt fish, and are creating more pollution on our streets,'' says Hil. "This is a great achievement to be the first in the country to do this. This is about addressing an injustice."

Of course, the $10 billion industry is less than thrilled with the news and has even threatened a legal challenge. They argue that singling out bottled water is unfair when "thousands of food, medicinal, beauty and cleaning products packaged in plastic." But this isn't the first time bottled water has been targeted.

More than 100 towns across the United States already prohibit spending city dollars on the product.

"We obviously don't think highly of the vote in Concord,'' said Joe Doss, president of the International Bottled Water Association, a trade association that represents bottlers, suppliers, and distributors. "Any efforts to discourage consumers from drinking water, whether tap water or bottled water, is not in the best interests of consumers. Bottled water is a very healthy, safe, convenient product that consumers use to stay hydrated.''

But bottled water is hardly safe. As the NRDC reports, water stored in plastic bottles for 10 weeks showed signs of phthalate-leaching. Phthalates block testosterone and other hormores! And keep in mind, while phthalates in tap water are regulated, no such regulations exist at all for bottled water. And as the infographic above points out, bottled water costs 10,000 times more than tap water and 40-percent of it comes straight from the tap.

The Concord ordinance is part of a statewide effort for a new bottle law. The state's 29-year-old law only allows consumers to redeem bottles and cans from soda and beer. Bottles from non-carbonated water, iced tea, juices or energy drinks--which account for one-third of all beverages sold in Massachusetts--are not redeemable. The new law would raise the redemption fee to 10 cents and cover a larger variety of beverage bottles.

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/05/concord_ma_to_be_first_us_town_to_ban_bottled_water.php

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About Oceanic Defense
We are an international non-profit organization with members in over 60 countries, spanning 6 continents with 1 mission; healthy aquatic ecosystems free from human abuse and neglect. Oceanic Defense teaches people to protect our oceans by acting responsibly as consumers and by making smart decisions in our daily lives. Whether we are buying groceries, commuting to work, planning a vacation or advocating within our own communities; each action we take or decision we make either helps or hurts our oceans. We empower people to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem and work together to protect our blue planet.

Join us on Facebook:www.facebook.com/OceanicDefense
Visit our official website:www.oceanicdefense.org
Follow us on Twitter:www.twitter.com/OceanicDefense