By Kerry Wolfe
More than 60 million plastic bottles are deposited into landfills each day — that’s approximately 30 billion plastic bottles a year being disposed of in U.S. landfills alone.
Seventeen billion barrels of oil are used each year to produce the 30 billion plastic bottles, producing some 2.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide pollution. It takes three times the amount of water to produce the bottle as it does to fill it. Not to mention the pollution from transporting heavy loads of bottled water all over the world.
Add in transportation; the annual energy resources used on bottled water production; and overall distribution; and you’ve used more than 50 million barrels of oil, the equivalent to run 3 million cars for a year (WaterFilterComparasions).
Enter Boxed Water is Better, an eco-biz that offers a sustainable alternative to traditional bottled water. The company, which officially launched in 2009, has turned packaged water into an eco-friendly commodity. The idea of boxing water stemmed from an earlier idea of creating a less environmentally harmful brand of bottled water. However plans soon changed, giving way to the concept behind Boxed Water is Better.
“What we have on the market now is our first step. We envision many more steps as technology increases in the packaging space and in the filling space. We’re excited that we already have a brand to launch those changes under,” said Gott.
Boxed Water is Better works to promote sustainability and produce packaged water with a lower carbon footprint than bottled water. Nearly 76 percent of each carton is made from green-certified trees grown in healthy, well-managed forests. Each box is also recyclable, minimalizing its long-term effects on the environment.
The boxes are flat when shipped to the filler, making it so that even the shipment of the boxes has a lower carbon footprint than the production of traditional bottled water. The water comes from sources located close to the company’s filling facilities.
The company also places a strong emphasis on philanthropy in addition to sustainability; 10 percent of profits are donated to water relief foundations. Another 10 percent is donated to reforestation foundations.
“Being ecologically forward thinking is often at its core, attempting to be more efficient,” said Gott.”We think it’s the job of creative entrepreneurs to rethink how things can service the market in more efficient, sustainable and even philanthropic ways if they choose.”
The company is based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is working to distribute its product in retailers across the United States and internationally. Gott believes that over the next five to 10 years consumer packaged goods will be the subject of sustainable innovations, creating a huge opportunity for companies like his own.
About Kerry Wolfe
Kerry is a sophomore at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she’s working towards a BA in magazine journalism. She loves to travel, and plans to spend her career exploring the world and writing about the people and places she encounters. Kerry’s also a huge animal lover, and the only thing she loves more than visiting a new place is spending time with her horse.
Photo courtesy of Boxed Water is Better
