When you opt for bottled water instead of soft drink or fruit juice, you usually feel like you’re going for the healthy, economical option. However, the bottled water industry is much more sinister than you’d think.

1. Bottled water contributes to global warming

Bottled water is responsible for 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. Simply producing the plastic for these bottles costs 47 million gallons of oil annually. At least they’re recyclable, right? Water bottles are almost always recyclable, but more than 80 per cent never make it past the trash. Hopeless.

2. Bottled water is expensive

The average price for a small serve of bottled water is two dollars. The average price of the same serve of tap water is less than one cent. Per gallon, bottled water is more expensive than oil. In fact, the industry is valued at an average of US$60 billion per year.

3. In most Western countries, bottled water isn’t cleaner or healthier than tap water

Tap water often has fluoride added to strengthen your teeth, whereas bottled water doesn’t. Most countries, including America and the United States, have no law that states bottled water has to be better quality than tap water. According to Bottled Water, Pure Drink or Pure Hype?, a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, up to 40% of all American bottled water is the equivalent of tap water as it comes straight from a city water system.

Of course, it’s a good idea not to drink the tap water when you’re travelling overseas. The best option is to invest in a good quality filter. The best filters are either built into a bottle or can be used like a straw.

4. Bottled water is uncool

The word is out: drinking bottled water is about as uncool as being addicted to pokie machines, smoking while pregnant, or wearing your grandmother’s underwear.

Despite the slick advertising on the front of bottled water, featuring crystal clear water running through pristine valleys, bottled water doesn’t make anyone look healthier or sportier. It is all part of an advertising campaign by the large corporations who own the main bottled water brands that works by selling us a product we don’t need through scare-mongering and pretty pictures.

To protest against bottled water and sign the pledge to boycott bottled water from your life, visit: http://beyondthebottle.org

Want to know more, or spread the moral outrage amongst your friends? This thought-provoking eight minute video with cute animations should do the trick: http://youtu.be/Se12y9hSOM0