I've seen this around, and I even met the entrepreneur behind it, a nice guy, and I still can't quite wrap my brain around it: tap water -- bottled and sold.
I drink tap water every day. A lot of it. At restaurants, I'll sometimes even ask specifically for tap water. But I would never ask for somebody to first pour it into a plastic bottle. And yet, that's what's happening here. I'm flabbergasted. Why would anyone who has access to a reusable bottle (read: anyone) or a tap pay for bottled tap water -- it's such a waste. That's the most ridiculous thing about it.
Of course, my roommate disagrees with me on this point. He says the most ridiculous thing about it is that somebody would have the audacity to sell tap water in today's economy. (I guess I'd better not show him that "Snuggie" ad, huh?)
So here, from our friend Maura Judkis over at US News, is the pitch:
Tap'dNY is a company that bottles and sells local New York City tap water, which is often rated as one of the best-tasting tap water sources in the country. By bottling and selling it locally, the company has cut out the emissions from transporting water halfway around the globe. They encourage their customers to drink water from the tap when they're near one. Tap'dNY wants to be the second-choice alternative - a brand that people will reach for when they are on the street and don't have a refillable water bottle at hand, but don't want to purchase an unhealthy soda. The bottles are designed to be reused, and the company, of course, encourages recycling. Their advertising is starkly honest, and there's no deception about the source of the water inside.
So now I ask you to participate in our little poll and post it to Facebook: