Chapter 16- Advertising, Public Relations, and Sales Promotion

It's interesting to me when bottled water companies promote themselves as "green." Why? because bottled water accounts for 3 billion pounds of waste per year, takes 17 million barrels of oil to produce in the U.S alone to produce, and to end short handed: kills the environment. Only 1 in 5 water bottles are recycled. On that note, Fiji Water claims that it is a “green” bottled water company with slogans such as:  “Our Promise, Our Progress” or “Every drop is green.” This is a form of the companies advocacy advertising campaign. According to Is It Green: Fiji Water, Adrienne Jeffries states that Fiji water  plans to reduce its CO2 emissions by 25% over the next three years, convert to 50% renewable energy by 2010, and is pursuing recycling and reforestation programs on the island of Fiji. However Jeffries “grilled” the senior manager of sustainable growth for the company; the senior manager states how Fiji water is promoting green energy and all the basics that any company would say with a “green” title. However Jeffries had the Senior manager stumped as seen in the following interview questions:

Q: FIJI has one of the thickest, heaviest bottles among bottled water brands. After the 20% reduction in packaging, how will the bottle’s heft compare to other brands like Nestle and Poland Spring?

A: FIJI declined to answer this question.

Q: How could a lighter weight bottle compromise the integrity and quality of the product, which is water? Is Fiji is keeping the bottle heftier than other brands for marketing reasons, for example because it sends a subconscious signal of quality to the consumer, or for whatever reason?

A: FIJI declined to answer this question.

Fiji water has not mentioned ANY process on the reduction of plastic used in its production of its bottles. As inferred by Jeffries, it is most likely to maintain the title of having a higher quality water bottle. If Fiji water was to create a water bottle with the same feel as a Arrowhead or Poland Springs bottle, it may reduce consumers consumption of the water. So the company can do more to reduce this 3 billion pounds of water bottle waste, by reducing the plastic in its bottles, or resorting to other materials as other companies have such as Boxed Water, or promoting reusable bottles. It’s an ongoing controversy that bottled water companies are promoting their image as green as a way of advocacy advertising, when they continue to manufacture bottled water.