We’ve talked here several times about the on-again, off-again risk factor of BPA leeching out of plastic bottles and into your body. The promotional products industry has chosen to move on from the issue altogether, with suppliers manufacturing BPA-free for some time now. But a new study from the State University of New York raises a totally different fear factor from single-use plastic bottles. According to the study, there are tiny bits of plastic junk, no more than 2.5 microns across, in 94 percent of the bottled water tested from the U.S. The rest of the globe is not much safer—83 percent of bottled water from around the world was also found to contain plastic fibers.
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a journal, tested well-known bottled water from brands like Aquafina, Dasani, Nestle Pure Life, and San Pellegrino.
The results are sobering:
- Analysis of 259 bottles from 19 locations, in 9 countries across 11 different brands, found an average of 325 plastic particles per liter of water.
- Of the 259 bottles tested, only 17 were free of plastic particles.
- In one bottle of Nestlé Pure Life, concentrations were as high as 10,000 plastic pieces per liter of water.
Sherri Mason, a researcher from the State University of New York at Fredonia, told AFP that 65 percent of the plastic particles found were "fragments" of plastic, and included the plastic used to make some bottle caps. "I think it is coming through the process of bottling the water," Mason said. "I think that most of the plastic that we are seeing is coming from the bottle itself, it is coming from the cap, it is coming from the industrial process of bottling the water."
Reaction from the industry trade group International Bottled Water Association was swift. President and CEO Joe Doss said the study, because it has not been peer-reviewed, isn't based on sound science. “The study's findings do nothing more than unnecessarily scare consumers," Doss said.
"Consumers can remain confident that bottled water products, like all food and beverages, are strictly regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and, thus, are safe for consumption," Doss said in a prepared statement. "The bottled water industry is committed to providing consumers with the safest and highest quality products."
Still, it might be a good idea to encourage your clients to “think before they drink” and buy more logoed re-usable drinkware. There are four good reasons beyond the chemical risk you can give them:
Bacteria. While plastic water bottles are designed for single use, many of us refill them again and again, without washing them. A Canadian study of re-used, unwashed water bottles found that nearly two-thirds of the samples had bacterial levels that exceeded drinking water guidelines.
Environment. One million plastic bottles are purchased around the world every minute, according to Euromonitor International. We recycle less than half of what we use, and only 7 percent come back as bottles again. The rest doesn’t all make it to landfills, with somewhere between 5 million and 13 million tons of plastic going into the world’s oceans every year. At that rate, the oceans will soon contain more plastic than fish.
Food Chain. Your body can process less than 1 percent of the microplastic you eat. Researchers in Belgium suggest that seafood eaters take in up to 11,000 tiny pieces of plastic every year. Nobody knows the effects from years of doing this.
Tourism. You can see the devastating impact of discarded plastic on the world’s most beautiful locations documented every day on the Instagram and Facebook feeds of disappointed tourists.
This is a great sales opportunity for you, and a chance for your customers to do the right thing at the same time. Isn’t it about time for a “Think Before You Drink” initiative with all your clients?
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for 40 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. You can find him volunteering as a Guardian ad Litem, traveling the world with his lovely wife, or enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Connect with Jeff on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram, or reach out to him at jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.