4/9/08|Welcome to the FIJI Green blog!
Hi everyone, welcome to our blog! Weíre excited about starting this up and look forward to sharing with you the latest news on FIJI Green, our path to sustainability. Weíll talk about our day-to-day wins and struggles, neat stuff weíre learning along the way, and opportunities for you to get involved.
†
And we want to hear from you! Please share your thoughts on FIJI Green, what weíre doing, what we have plannedÖall of it. Feel free to ask questions too ñ we know topics like carbon footprints and climate change can get pretty complicated, and weíll do our best to make them a bit easier to understand.
Angela says:
April 17th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I read a compelling article a few months back about bottled water, and Fuji water was highlighted as one of the worst performing bottled water companies with respect to carbon footprint. This was due to the heavier weight bottles that are shipped first empty to the island and then back to the US full of water. The factory was highlighted as an eyesore on the beautiful islands with belching smokestacks.
Water Quality
It also begs the question, why do we need to bring water in from Fuji, when the water in this country is some of the cleanest in the world! We have a wonderful spring here in Colorado that offers great tasting water – locally – Eldorado Springs. The Bay Area enjoys pristine water from the mountains and yet there are plenty of soccer moms toting bottles of primarily filtered tap water from Coca Cola.
Recycling
Less than 30% of the plastic bottles from bottled water ends up in the recycling bin, which means loads of Fuji plastic in the land fills. What are you doing to use PLA or biodegradable plastics?
Buying locally may not be beneficial with some products, but surely transporting plastic bottles around the world with a product that comes out of our tap is not “green” in any respect!
FIJI Green Gal says:
April 18th, 2008 at 3:48 am
Thanks for your feedback. A few thoughts:
First, the article you read was misinformed in several aspects. For example, we do not ship empty bottles to Fiji. We produce the bottles on site. I’ve also spent a lot of time at the bottling facility and know for certain there are no “belching smokestacks.” Considering how much time I spend there, I’d be the first one complaining if that were true. Unfortunately writers sometimes publish statements without basic fact checking. We do encourage you to go to our web site (http://www.fijigreen.com/WhatItMeans.html) and see the bottling process there, and to read our FAQs (http://www.fijigreen.com/FAQs.html).
Next, to address your question about PLA/corn-based plastics, I’ll quote from our web site (http://www.fijigreen.com/LessPackaging.html): “While we have considered corn-based plastics, we believe they are not a truly sustainable solution. They are likely to require the conversion of large tracts of land to agricultural usage, with profoundly detrimental impacts on those tractsí ecosystems. Large-scale use of corn-based plastics would also cause food prices to rise further, with the greatest burden falling on those least able to afford it. Even now, demand for corn-based ethanol is making food more costly, as the increasing scarcity of corn makes it more expensive to use as an ingredient in food products and as feed for livestock.”
There are also disposal issues. Biodegradable plastics will not degrade unless they are composted. Most consumers do not have composting systems in their homes, and very few cities offer curbside composting services.
As a result, these materials typically end up either in a landfill or in the recycling stream. In a landfill, biodegradable plastics (and other biodegradable materials) will not degrade for a long time, since landfills are designed to prevent decay and thus keep contaminants from leaching into surrounding areas. In the recycling stream, these plastics are contaminants, making it more difficult to sort and process the recyclable plastics.
Finally, it’s actually not true that bottled water is a major waste contributor. As noted on the web site (http://www.fijigreen.com/OurPromise.html), bottled water comprises 0.33% of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream, and FIJI Water is less than 2% of that. This is why we believe it’s important to increase recycling rates of all eligible materials (not just FIJI, not just water bottles). So we’re advocating for expansion of curbside and consumer incentive programs for recycling. Check out our recycling game (http://www.fijigreen.com/HowYouCanHelp.html) to see how recycling can reduce the carbon footprint of FIJI Water – or any product that uses packaging!
JIm Grandbois says:
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:06 am
If you can convince anyone that your product is green then you have to be the best salespeople on the planet. nothing could be further from the truth, and now companies like yours are trying to use “green” to make it seem acceptable. your product is not green in any way, and can only be considered comedy to hear you call it that. All of your selective and self- serving propaganda will not change the fact that your company is one of the most absurd products on the market.
Jennifer Barrons says:
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I have 2 questions:
1. where are the bottles made? ok, i know the answer to this. the answer is, surprisingly: CHINA. the bottles are manufactured in a totally non-green way, with the stretching and molding of plastic using gallons of water and fuel. these empty bottles are then shipped to Fiji, where they are filled at the local bottling plant mentioned.
2. how long with the aquifer last? i don’t know the answer to this one, but a friend who got back from Fiji last month told me locals are worried that the aquifer, which took 10,000 years to fill, will be dry within 5 years, depleting much of Fiji’s natural ground water, which will have a huge and grave effect on the region’s environment.
ok, 1 more question:
How can ANY bottled water be considered Green??
it is a ridiculous waste of natural resources, for something that most people can get for free, from their tap, with regulations in place. if you want added assurances of cleanliness, get a brita and a steel water bottle to fill again and again. no shipping, no garbage, minimal use of precious resources.
FIJI Green Gal says:
April 25th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Hi Jennifer, please read my preceding comment from April 18th. As explained there, we do not ship empty bottles to Fiji – we make them on site.
Regarding the aquifer, we work with leading hydrogeologist firms to ensure that we are managing the aquifer sustainably. We draw no more than what is easily replenished by rainfall. Think of it as the difference between “harvesting” and “mining” – we harvest the aquifer, rather than mining it. We have one water source, so frankly there is every incentive in the world for us to make sure we take good care of it.
Our conservation work in the Sovi Basin and reforestation projects elsewhere in Viti Levu, the island in Fiji that is our home, also play a significant role in protecting critical watersheds. The conservation and reforestation projects will help ensure a plentiful supply of good water for the people who live on the island. See http://www.fijigreen.com/SavingTheRainforest.html for more details.
PaulPixel says:
April 26th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Simple.. want to help the planet. DRINK FILTERED TAP WATER. Which is all most bottled water is. Get a clip on water filter and do it yourself for about $15 per several thousand gallons. Then there is 0 carbon footprint.
No matter how much good a company who sells products like this say they’re doing (or are in fact doing) they can’t offest the damage the product itself does in its life-cycle. Its like a tobacco company offering to fund cancer research. How ludicrous.
pD
Will Notsay says:
May 27th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
You say you make your bottle preforms onsite at the bottling plant. Where do you get the raw materials for these preforms? I doubt you use windmills to mine the oil right outside the factory doors. I can’t find that information anywhere, and if you want to convince people your company is green, you should be open about this information. Maybe it’s just me, but I find it hard to believe ANY company if it ONLY mentions its beneficial side. Face it everyone, even tap water isn’t greenñ we should all technically be digging wells alongside our houses. There is a downside to everything- we may as well be open about it.
And, just out of curiosity: What do over 300 employees do at the bottling plant alone if not one of them touches the water?
FIJI Green Gal says:
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
Will, the PET resin comes from Thailand. The point was that we’re not shipping hollow preforms or empty bottles despite what some other bloggers have claimed.
Fijians have as much a right as anyone to participate in the global economy, but it does seem like you’re arguing that because they live where they do, they shouldn’t be allowed to either import or export goods. Sure seems like a tough restriction to place on someone else…or yourself, for that matter.
josephw. clemmons says:
March 16th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
the best water i have ever drank.
Kevin says:
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 pm
So you are saying that it is still better to have a plastic bottle that will not biodegrade compared to a biodegradable one that might take a little bit longer than if it was properly composted? Not too sure how this works? I agree that bottled water does not have to be a major contributor to the waste stream, if it is recycled. However, minimal amounts of these bottles actually end up in available recycling systems. Take New York for example, quite often recycling bins are located within close proximity of many areas, but people driven by consumption habits and convenience would rather just throw it in the trash (even if the recycling bin is right beside the trash.) If you only account for 2% of the waste stream for bottled water and it is estimated that 10 billion bottles are thrown out each year in the US, that means that you are accountable for approximately 200,000,000 bottles a year or so depending on market share and relative recycling rates. Not really a small number in the grand scheme of things.
I applaud that you are taking conservation efforts to preserve the Sovi Basin, but what will happen to the ecosystem once you have stripped it of all the water to ship it over 5,000 miles to the United States to supply a market which already has local resources that are often held to higher municipal standards than most bottled water companies?
johnsen says:
September 14th, 2009 at 12:12 am
I am working in china now,i have not seen the Fiji Water was sold in china, i love the water so much,where can i buy it?
FIJI Media Gal says:
September 16th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Johnsen,
You’re in luck! We’ll be pressing forward into China in the coming months. Check back with us in early 2010 and we’ll be able to provide more information on where you can purchase FIJI Water.