Pepsi recently joined in a partnership with Starbucks to distribute Ethos bottled water.  Starbucks is literally singing the praises of this emerging bottled water company (check out the ridiculous song they recorded here).  Starbucks bought Ethos Water a year ago for $8 million.  The coffee giant has pledged to raise $10 million for sustainable, clean water projects over 5 years by donating 5 cents for every $1.80 bottle of Ethos Water to water programs in developing countries like Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Honduras. 

With Starbucks' $495 million of annual profits and Pepsi's 2005 revenues of over $32 billion, you would think these huge companies could be a little more generous.  The goal of $10 million by 2010 is also only a small portion of the estimated $100 billion spent on bottled water each year.

While the Ethos' intentions may be honorable, the bottled water industry is the ultimate privatization of this essential resource.  Ethos' slogan is “Every Bottle Makes a Difference” and they are right.  Bottled water drains ecosystems, creates waste in the form of plastic bottles and uses large amounts of gas in the process of transportation.  Additionally, the industry is not well regulated, meaning that it is usually no safer or cleaner than tap water.

Ethos' website says that their water is taken from protected and sustainable springs in Pennsylvania and California, but who is ensuring that their practices are environmentally sound?  It is truly ironic that Ethos is bottling and trading away water in an attempt to increase global access to safe water.

Learn more about the trouble with bottled water.

Learn more about Starbucks and corporate responsibility.