Bottled Water from the Amazon Rainforest?

October 3, 2007

Florida businessman Jeff Moats, is getting ready to launch �Equa� a premium brand of water. He is tapping a spring found near the equator in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. This is a spring he discovered over 10 years ago while searching the region for alternatives to cocoa beans. This water will sell for around $2.00 a liter, and will compete with high end brands such as Voss (�From the wilderness of Norway�, Jana (�Croatian Village of Saint Jana), and Fiji.

The marketing is clever as the bottle is shaped like a droplet of rain. They used the simple shape to signify that there is nothing in the water, that it is pure.

However there are quite a few people upset with this new endeavor. Some argue that selling water for such a premium is outright wrong as 1.1 billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water. Others argue that the plastic water bottles are filling landfills and an alarming rate. Still others feel the fragile rainforest ecosystem may be harmed as 45,000 square foot factory is being built right in the heard of the rainforest.

Moats states that he will direct some of the profits to help �the people of the Amazon to preserve their environment�.

Time will tell, what the impact will be and at what will be given back to the people of the Amazon.