Environmental Issues

Bottled  water  is  the  most  self-motivated  market  of  the  food  and  beverage  industry  for  the  reason  that  it  is  not  limited  to  one  single  product.  There  are  three  principal  types  of  bottled  water  that  can  be  recognized,  namely,  natural  mineral  water,  spring  water,  and  purified  water  (Ferrier  2001).  The  bottled  water  industry  is  considered  to  be  quite  energetic  as  a  number  of  bottled  water  companies  compete  on  this  market.  Even  though,  they  can  be  dissimilar  in  a  number  of  ways.  It  is  somewhat  possible  to  recognize  them  as  a  result  of  the  categories  those  companies  fall  into.  The  world  bottled  water  market  delineates  an  annual  volume  of  89  billion  liters  which  is  approximated  to  hold  a  worth  of  22  billion of the US (Ferrier  2001).  Moreover,  Western  Europeans  comprise  of  the  worlds  principal  bottled  water  consumers. However,  Asia  and  the  Pacific  represent  themselves  as  the  most  capable  market-places,  with  an  annual  increment  of  more  than  7  per  cent  every  year.  Strikingly,  the  standard  consumption  of  bottled  water  all  over  the  world  has  increased  by  7  per  cent  on  an  annual  basis,  where  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  world  market  is  regulated  by  local  participants  (Ferrier  2001).    Bottled water has developed into a very enveloping global business.  Moreover,  the  consumption  of  bottled  water  is  consistently  increasing  at  a  swift  pace,  chiefly,  in  nations  where  clean  and  drinkable  tap  water  is  accessible  at  negligible  price.  As  a  result,  we  will  discuss  various  elite  meanings  and  interpretations  of  bottled  water  along  with  the  kinds  of  consumer  restraints  that  go  up  against  bottled  water  as  a  commodity.  The  distinction  between  tap  water  as  well  as  bottled  water  can  be  construed  as  a  manifestation  of  a  challenge  for  authority  and  public  trust  amidst  governments  and  organizations,  with  a  strong  reference  to  the  sensitive  curiosities  and  nervousness  with  regards  to  risk  and  health  (Wilk  2006).  Also,  increased  urbanization  which  has  caused  tap  water  quality  to  recede  can  explain  this  circumstance  in  particular.  Precisely  speaking,  natural  mineral  water  cannot  be  treated  or  supplemented  by  any  constituent,  and  hence,  is  perceived  as  natural  by  those  dwelling  in  towns  and  cities  seeking  authenticity  in  their  consumption.

Bottled Water vs. Tap Water
Bottled  water  consumption  manifests  a  particular  way  of  life  as  this  has  reached  every  segment  of  the  world.  At  many  instances,  bottled  water  is  considered  as  an  alternative  to  tap  water  as  consumers  believe  it  has  a  better  taste,  and  hence,  it  is  observed  as  safer  and  of  a  better  quality.  Even  though  it  is  considered  as  pure  and  safe,  it  is  not  always  the  case.  Health  and  well-being  are  consumers  most  preferred  objectives  as  bottled  water  makes  them  feel  well,  and  is  a  good  alternative  to  lose  weight.  It is a healthy substitute to other beverages.  We  all  believe  that  safe  drinking  water  is  good  for  health.  All  the  water  that  we  drink  is  derived  from  analogous  sources  such  as  rivers,  lakes,  or  from  the  sources  which  we  cannot  see,  for  example,  underground  aquifers.  In  my  opinion,  when  it  comes  to  environmental  safety,  bottled  water  industry  contributes  to  the  solution  for  it.

Bottled  water  industries  work  along  with  other  beverage  producers  as  well  as  environmental  authorities  in  order  to  create  and  encourage  the  recycling  network.  It  is  essential  for  consumers  to  be  cognizant  about  recycling,  and  have  access  to  all  the  recycling  positions  so  as  to  accumulate  all  beverage  recyclable  goods  (ABWI,  2004).  Bottled  water  is  an  alternative  to  tap  water  as  consumers  prefer  it  because of taste  of  chemicals  in  tap  water  such  as  chlorine,  which  is  brought  into  use  for  the  purification  of  tap  water.

The  most  important  thing  that  consumers  look  for  is  security,  whether  it  is  an  emerging  country,  or  a  well-equipped  one.  They  do not  seem  to  trust  their  tap  water  as  a  result  of  the  earlier  bacterial  contamination,  for  example,  and  hence,  observe  bottled  water  as  being  safer  than  that.  Taking  India  into  consideration,  the  mistrust  of  bad  tap  water  quality,  along  with  usual  deficiency  of  tap  water,  has  resulted  in  striking  deviation  towards  bottled  water  (Ferrier  2001).  In  todays  times,  natural  mineral  water  which  is  sold  in  supermarkets  does  not  come  along  with  a  medical  image.  Today,  people  prefer  to  buy  bottled  water  in  order  to  feel  well  which  is  strongly  perceived  as  a  result  of  the  response  to  advertisements  that  are  usually  based  on  comfort,  energy,  fitness,  etc.  Bottled  water  is  considered  as  a  healthy  substitute  to  other  beverages  such  as  sodas,  alcohol,  and  products  which  contain  artificial  coloring  or  sweeteners  (Ferrier  2001).  According  to  Sullivan  (1996),  bottled  water  contains  lesser  calories  and  is  perfect  for  people  who  look  forward  to  lose  weight.  This  is  one  of  the  glimmers  that  illuminated  the  bottled  water  blaze  as  a  substitute  to  fitness  trend  in  the  early  1980s  (Sullivan  1996).  Undoubtedly,  the  consumption  of  bottled  water  is  intimately  associated  with  the  way  consumers  confront  their  nourishment,  which  currently  prevalent  for  healthy  intake.  

Conclusions and Recommendations
The  quality  of  bottled  water  is  usually  good,  even  though,  there  are  chances  of  it  to  suffer  from  the  similar  contamination  hazards  as  tap  water.  The  quality  of  natural  mineral  water  is  frequently  tested  in  many  countries,  not  only  by  autonomous  laboratories,  but  also  by  the  internal  services  offered  by  companies.  However,  it  is  not  in  the  concern  for  the  bottled  water  companies  who  usually  base  their  marketing  schemes  on  the  purity  of  their  products,  so  as  to  conceal  the  occasional  and  perceptible  contamination  in  the  product.  In  order  to  make  sure  that  the  quality  of  bottled  water  is  as  good  as  asserted,  companies  fully  release  their  quality  examinations  on  a  routine  basis,  thereby,  making  them  accessible  to  a  broad  number  of  people  with  the  help  of  a  number  of  sources  (Ferrier  2001).  There  are  chances  that  tap  water  could  be  of  degraded  quality,  and  replaced  by  purified  water,  solely  for  drinking  concerns.  Still,  bottled  water  should  not  always  be  taken  into  consideration  as  a  sustainable  substitute  to  tap  water  simply  because  of  the  purified  content  in  it,  as  it  is  not  always  excused  of  occasional  infectivity  (Jungbluth  2005).  All  in  all,  international  norms  are  capable  of  facilitating  the  availability  of  bottled  water  products  by  simplifying  their  purification  processes  and  bottled  water  designations  as  a  whole.