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Corporate Accountability International: Nationwide Tap Water Challenges Come to Cleveland

Posted on: Thursday, 12 October 2006, 12:00 CDT

CLEVELAND, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Corporate Accountability International brings its Tap Water Challenge to Cleveland. Cleveland is one of three American cities to be the latest participants in Tap Water Challenges that put the bottled water claims of Coke, Nestle and Pepsi to the test. Denver and Miami are the other two cities hosting challenges, and they are all part of Corporate Accountability International's national "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign, which is a direct challenge to the marketing myths and political power of bottled water corporations. This month's Tap Water Challenges are part of "Blue October," an internationally-recognized month of awareness about the importance of protecting people's access to water as a human right.

"We welcome Corporate Accountability International's Tap Water Challenge to Cleveland as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of our public water system," says Cleveland Water Commissioner J. Christopher Nielson. "We are proud of the value our tap water brings to the citizens of Greater Cleveland, not only as a high quality drinking water, but as a primary means of fire protection and hygiene, and as a fine resource for economic development, public health and recreation."

Three out of four Americans drink bottled water and one in five Americans drink only bottled water. "This dangerous trend is being fueled by misleading marketing," explains Corporate Accountability International Organizer Stacey Folsom. "Corporations like Coke, Nestle, Pepsi and, as you well know here in Cleveland, Fiji, spend tens of millions of dollars every year to undermine people's confidence in tap water, even though bottled water is less regulated and sometimes less safe."

Tap Water Challenges around the country demonstrate that people often cannot tell the difference between bottled water and tap water. They also encourage people to 'think outside the bottle' and challenge misconceptions about bottled water. Many people do not realize the FDA does not directly test and monitor most bottled water. It relies on bottled water corporations to do voluntary testing and self-monitoring. According to Corporate Accountability International, this is a dangerous formula.

"At Coke's annual shareholders' meeting this year, its CEO claimed consumers pay for increased 'security' when buying Dasani," recounted Folsom. "But just two years ago, half a million bottles of Dasani were recalled in the U.K. because they were contaminated with cancer-causing bromate. This summer U.S. bottled water brands were pulled of supermarket shelves for the same reason, and Coke and Pepsi products were both found to be contaminated with pesticides for the second time in India."

Since March, more than 1,000 people in twenty cities have taken Tap Water Challenges, donning blindfolds to try and tell the difference between Coke's Dasani, Pepsi's Aquafina, Nestle's Poland Spring, and their own public tap water. At the Tap Water Challenges, passersby sample four cups of water blindfolded. Two cups contain Dasani, Aquafina, or Poland Springs, and the other two contain water drawn from different public taps. Postcards with mock labels (Daphoni, Aquafib and Nasty) are on hand for consumers to fill out and send to the three corporations.

Corporate Accountability International and people across the country are demanding that Coke, Nestle, and Pepsi reveal the water sources used for bottling, publicly report breaches in bottled water quality (comparable to the quality reports of public water systems), and stop threatening local control of water when siting and operating bottled water plants.

Throughout October, organizations and activists in twenty-eight countries are hosting similar events that raise awareness about water issues and challenge corporate control of water. The month was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of Uruguay's constitutional referendum on October 31, 2004, when Uruguay changed their constitution to recognize officially water as a human right.

Long-term, Corporate Accountability International is working with people and organizations around the world to protect people's access to water as a human right, including through international legal instruments, such as a U.N. treaty. According to the United Nations, two-thirds of the world's people won't have access to enough water by 2025. In the face of limited water supply, corporations are increasingly seeking to turn water into a profit-driven commodity. Supplying water is already a $420 billion annual business and expected to grow significantly in the next ten to fifteen years.

Corporate Accountability International, formerly Infact, is a membership organization that protects people by waging and winning campaigns challenging irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world. For over 25 years, we've forced corporations -- like Nestle, General Electric and Philip Morris/Altria -- to stop abusive actions. For more information visit http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/.

Contact: Bryan Hirsch/Corporate Accountability International Cell: (617) 784-4753 Patti Lynn /Corporate Accountability International Office: (617) 695-2525

Corporate Accountability International

CONTACT: Bryan Hirsch, +1-617-784-4753, or Patti Lynn, +1-617-695-2525,both Corporate Accountability International

Web site: http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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