PepsiCo Incorporated has decided to be transparent about the fact that its Aquafina bottled water product is made from tap water.
Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are now labeled “P.W.S.” The new labels will spell out “public water source.”
“If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it’s a reasonable thing to do,” PepsiCo spokeswoman Michelle Naughton said Friday.
The corporate accountability group is also pressing for similar concessions from The Coca-Cola Co., which owns the Dasani water brand, and Nestle Waters North America, seller of Nestle Pure Life purified drinking water, which gets some of its water from municipal sources.
The decisions by PepsiCo come as criticism grows over environmental concerns about the industry’s use of local water sources as well as consumption of resin and energy to package and ship the bottles.
Last month alone, a barrage of news hit the industry: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom banned city-funded purchases of bottled water; New York City launched an ad campaign called “Get Your Fill” to promote the benefits of tap water; and the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution to bring attention to the importance of public water systems and the negative impact of bottled water.
“I think it’s unfortunate we have gotten into this tap water vs. bottled water debate,” the chief executive of the International Bottled Water Association, Joe Doss, said. “I do not think consumers are uniformly replacing tap water with bottled water.”
PepsiCo shares fell 55 cents to $66.29 in afternoon trading Friday amid a broad market pullback.
