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Nestle Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For (bloomberg.com)
Nestle, the world's largest food and beverage company, has been bottling water since 1843 and has grown into the largest seller of bottled water. But a detailed report on Bloomberg uncovers the company's operation in Michigan, revealing that Nestle has come to dominate in the industry in part by going into economically depressed areas with lax water laws. It makes billions selling a product for which it pays close to nothing. Find the Bloomberg Businessweek article here (it might be paywalled, here's an alternative source).
I've heard a lot about how "evil" Nestle is for these practices. But as usual, we're simply dealing with shrewd businesses taking advantage of situations where they can make huge profits because the law of the land doesn't prevent any of it.
IMO, laws can be changed at any time -- so blame the governments for this.
I have spectacular well water where I live. How do I get in on this gig?
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Maybe it'll give the political scientists something to talk about.
eom
THEY'RE BOTTLING WATER.
Their biggest expense is probably the bottle, and then moving it to somewhere they can sell it.
This isn't news.
Nor is it news that stupid people will pay again for something that already comes out of their bathroom taps or falls from the sky for free all the time.
Dasani (Coke-owned?) were bottling River Thames water and selling it to Londoners. Everyone bought it UNTIL it made the news. They hadn't even noticed or cared up until then.
Bottled water has its place, sure, but paying for a bottle of water if you live in a huge house with hot and cold running water is like buying a can of air.
As to the social consequences of what they do, it's up to government to regulate those if they're a problem.
For example there are third world countries where Coca Cola's bottled water business is sucking up the water supply that locals need to survive. It can do this because governments there care more about wealthy businesses than they do about people.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Seriously, why do people pay for that shit?
Shhh, now Everybody who's Anybody is going to have to breathe exclusively canned air, because Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk say so. The truly elite breathe iAir, natchurally.
the largest expense is transportation. my dictionary costs $0.44 to make.
How about those cross-country water pipelines?
Oh, not as valuable as oil yet?
Plus ca change, plus c'est les memes choses.
A 2-liter of Coca Coca cost pennies to make.
Water that stays within a state need only conform to what comes out of the tap.
Literally, they take available water, and put it into a bottle: Bottled Water
When bottled water crosses state lines, it must conform to federal water standards.
FDA Bottled Water Regulations
Read your bottle; find out where the water inside came from.
Floating supermarket of Nestle products in Brazil. http://bit.ly/1U7PTC9
"Tempers are wearing thin. Let's just hope some robot doesn't kill everybody." --Bender
What's the problem exactly?
So paying $3.00 for a bottle of water at an event is a rip-off when you can bring your own bottle of tap-water for nearly nothing from home? I am so surprised.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
I found out this water stuff is in a lot of bottled drinks. We clearly have to put a stop to this now.
Yes Nestle has to pay for the bottle, shipping and other markups for things that aren't water, but it is a huge discrepancy in pricing. Why don't we as consumers buy reusable bottles (maybe even a simple glass) and fill them up ourselves for the same rates. This would be like people getting mad that oil only costs 50 dollars a barrel, yet they get about 31 gallons of gas/diesel out of that barrel of oil that they turn around and sell for about 90 bucks here in California.
I have mod points and I am not afraid to use them
That water wouldn't be from Flint MI now would it ?
When Limbaugh says you don't need to buy bottled water, just use some old bottles and store tap water, he gets called a heartless jerk. OK he is that, but it was perfectly good advice. It doesn't require purchasing high priced water, and saves throwing out used bottles.
When Nestle sells bottled water, which many people bought before the last few hurricanes, they are painted as heartless jerks.
So bad to do, bad to not do, bad to stay frozen in place, run, don't run, you're wrong no matter what. Is this is the American way, or are you all just a bunch of heartless jerks.
This is getting fucking Orwellian folks.
It's not, their fault that sociopathic behavior in the buying of our political system is so darn lucrative! I'm having a hard time believing that anyone actually thinks this shit-- Nestle has more power over our political system than any of us individually could ever hope to have, and yet they're the victim?
I never blame a business for making a dollar. What, they get free water so we should pay less? Almost any business making a product likes to buy their raw materials for as cheap as they can. Maybe instead of blaming Nestle, we should consider how dumb people are for paying what they do for water? Get yourself a water bottle and fill it up from you tap? Your already paying for that water.
The laws should be updated and price of licenses to extract water should be indexed to inflation instead of 1873 prices.
Additionally, add clauses requiring water bottlers like Nestle to address concerns like this:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/plastic-fibres-found-tap-water-around-world-study-reveals
They should have to contribute a percentage of revenue (not profit, because they'll make up extra costs like marketing fees and executive pay) to a blind trust to research the consequences of plastic in water everywhere; at the very least their bottles should not leech chemicals into the water they contain in any reasonable timeframe (maybe something like less than 5 years) and they should have bottle recycling goals of something upwards of 75%.
Yes, this will raise their costs and reduce their profit somewhat, but it will protect a resource that must be clean to be fit for human consumption.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapped_(film)
Pretty much everyone should be aware by now that designer bottled water is an enormous, expensive scam that is harmful in pretty much every respect.
Think about how much waste there is in bottling and shipping water. This goes for water based products too, like fruit juices and laundry detergent - buy concentrated juice and powdered detergent instead. Water is heavy! A cheap household water filter can process hundreds of gallons of water with little transportation costs.
For the record: IDNWFAWFC (I do not work for a water filter company). This is just common sense.
They make money on bottling the water and advertising. Tea in a tea bag cost about 1 cent. Yet people pay $2 at coffee shop and $5-10 at upscale restaurants and even more at luxury hotels.
This has absolutely nothing to do with nerds, technology, internet, or anything even close. It's a food company putting water in bottles. WTF. Not news that matters.
So what? The question is and has always been (and always been ignored or avoided) WHO OWNS NESTLE????? Who is the majority shareholder of Nestle???? Who are the owners. Stop talking about monolithic corporations without naming the owners --- otherwise you are just spinning.
I guess if the collective "we" are really stupid enough to buy bottled-water in a country where the supply (outside of Flint) is just fine, then "we" get what "we" deserve. You can only combat stupidity so far, and unfortunately, at least in the USA, "we" now worship stupidity above any other virtue. Drink up dip-shits and throw that money at the .1%. It's what "we" deserve!
A fool and their money are soon parted and the bottled water people are making out like bandits because people are idiots.
Don't blame the corporation. Blame the idiot consumers who buy the way over priced tap water.
I wonder how much the people who published this useless story will make off of only repacking someone else's useless story.
I can not say this about other countries, but in the US, if you purchase bottled water for ANYTHING other than an emergency back up to existing water supplies, you deserve EVERYTHING that comes with it. The actual cost is around a 2000X markup. But I think a Tusser quote pretty much sums it up. A foole and his money be soone at debate: which after with sorow repents him too late.
Bottled Life - Nestlé's Business with Water (English with some German commentary, YT auto-translate of subtitles may help)
This docu is about Nestlé's bottled water operations in (mostly) poor countries. But with some parts about this subject as well - taking a public resource & selling that for profit.
Next you'll be telling me that Coca Cola and Redbull cost nothing to make and most of the cost is to pay the marketing budget.
I always thought drinks like bottled water and Pepsi were expensive because they cost so much to manufacture.
This is all legal, which just makes it good business. For cities that give Nestle cheap water, it may be a trade-off between the cost of the water and the benefits of having a Nestle plant (like employment, taxes and spending in the local area). Seems no different than what Amazon is currently doing as it shops for a city to put a new campus, looking for the best deal.
I don't like the price and waste from bottled water, so I don't buy or use much of it.
Sounds like I need to invest in Nestle...there's always a lot of fools who will pay a premium for water in a bottle.
I wish I had mod points right now.
You're exactly right, of course. In every other civilized nation in the world bribery is a crime. In America, we call it lobbying and that somehow makes it legal.
I'd love to see lobbying made illegal. It can take gerrymandering and forfeiture laws with it too on the way out the door.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
their tap water is for all practical purposes just as good if not better than whats in the bottle.
Our tap water is clean and potable, but tastes nasty. Too much chlorine.
"I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
I've heard a lot about how "evil" Nestle is for these practices. But as usual, we're simply dealing with shrewd businesses taking advantage of situations where they can make huge profits because the law of the land doesn't prevent any of it.
IMO, laws can be changed at any time -- so blame the governments for this.
Having had nice refreshing drinks from water buffaloes on a hot day (what we called an old military water tank on a trailer), I can say there are clearly alternatives to water bottles that result in a LOT less pollution. There should be a more meaningful tax on small water bottles sold outside of an emergency situation.
Incidentally, very few things are as annoying as people who buy a lot of water bottles and leave them half-empty all over the place. (Yes, these people exist.)
Real lawyers write in C++
If, for example, you live in Flint MI, it might be worthwhile to buy their water. Unless they used Flint water.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
When government make regulations against business practices, you whine and whinge and moan and bitch and vote them out for interfering with private industry. So in what way is it *government's* fault they're not making regulations? IT IS YOUR FAULT, DUMBASS.
Let me drink some a that H_To_oh
What an outrage!
Now, where did I set my 5 dollar cup of coffee?
Yup, they sure don't pay a single penny for that bottle of water they sell you.
Same here. A bit too much iron/rust and mineral, too.
Biggest expense is definitely shipping the water.
If they could dehydrate it first then that would substantially lower the shipping costs.
Now there's a business idea - sell small fold-up packets of dehyrated water, much smaller and more convenient to carry, to say nothing of cheaper to ship. Just add water - it mixes instantly. Clearly you could charge a premium for the convenience. Should replace 98% of bottled water.
bottling michigan water? nothing could go wrong with this plan...
... by which mankind has swindled itself are religion and bottled water.
Nestle is too smart to put a business in Flint. Duh.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
and being the biggest source of unintentional comedy on the planet since forever. Classic.
The end of the sentence isn't where they go at.
I have a co-worker who lives out in the country and he can legally pull something like 20,000 L a day from his well. He pumps it into a couple big holding tanks he has, and he has a water truck and he sells it to people who want to fill their swimming pools. He's basically just charging for delivery. The water is free. Nurseries around here don't pay for water either, depending on how much they use. On the other hand, my house is near a town well so I'm in a source water protection area, and I can't even put a sand point in to water my lawn (they're trying to prevent contamination, but also means I have to purchase their town water at a rather high rate). That's part of the homeowner's agreement. Anyway, if you're getting short of water, then regulate the resource. It can be done.
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
Dear USA
So since it saves you time and somehow saves you money that's all that matters? Typical USian "I got mine, screw everyone else" attitude, that is how your precious orange skinned president got into office, by stupid little fucks like you. You and your ilk don't give a rat's arse that using disposable bottles is using the limited fossil fuel that the planet has. You and your ilk don't give a fuck about minorities, people with disabilities, or even your own veterans. Just as long as the privileged class has their's that's all that fucking matters. Soon the world will have the last laugh. No, you don't have to worry about Trump's illegitimate child, Kim Jong Un, since you will face the very ones you oppressed and the decedents of those your ancestors enslaved and we the world will be laughing our arses off while saying "Sayonara US, the only illegitimate nation in world history"
Signed :
The Rest of the world
This sh!t is over 3 years old.
There are bigger fish to fry.
tax the hell out of Nestle, the locales where this free water comes from the local governments should tax the hell out of them
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
I have a right to your water. A famous quote: Whiskey is for drinking water is for fighting over.
It's knowing they need to be changed. This is why Bernie Sanders is pushing a Medicare for All bill he knows won't pass. You have to start somewhere.
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Nestle has been evil for many years, the Mennonite community has been boycotting then since the 1970's because they provided baby formula to mother's in several communities in Africa, formula that had no nutritional value. The CEO would like water to be treated as a commodity, not the second most important ingredient to human life that it is. Yes, there is corruption in politics, always had been and always will, but that is on us, the voting constituents. If our politicians are corrupt is on its to be educated and be rid of them. As for Nestle, they're still evil as they continue to willingly and voluntarily use greed to cheat and steal from people. I say to hell with them.
I thought everybody knew that most bottled water was someone else's tap water.
Unalienable : "not transferable to another or not capable of being taken away or denied"
So, no, it ain't "up to society" to decide shit when it comes to unalienable rights and the US fought its very first war over that.
Extraction fees are assessed at the county level in Michigan. Usually they are for farms and golf courses.
Compared to the amount of water those two categories of users suck out of the ground, what Nestle is pumping out is practically rounding error.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
It's bitztream the autism-hating, custom EpiPen-hating, Musk-hating, Qualcomm-hating, Firefox tabs-hating Slashdot troll!
We call it a WELL up her in Michigan.
Whatever else bottled water is, the amount of water needed is trivial compared to other consumers such as agriculture. Materials and environmental impact of the bottles is much more problematic.
How's life in the hypocrite lane?
So many unamerican thoughts here.
What's the correct reaction?
Buy Nestle stock!
In the US nobody wants to pay for community amenities. Having clean water costs money to build and maintain the infrastructure that cleans it. Apparently, buying bottled water at a ridiculous markup is better than paying a lot less in taxes for reliable, safe, municipal tap water.
Source Flint.
Rich in trace elements.
Why is this on /.?
I probably should have added the "professional" or "career" qualifier to my original comment about lobbyists.
If you're going to say any activist who tries to put together some kind of small "awareness" group is outlawed from speaking with politicians because that's construed as lobbying them? Obviously no ... that's not what I'm suggesting.
What I'm saying is that it's a very real thing that you've got individuals, today, who make a career job out of lobbying politicians for very specific agendas. They're PAID to do this day in and day out. Sometimes? I'd agree 100% with what they're trying to do. (I met a guy out here in the DC suburbs who was doing this for marijuana legalization, and I think he was completely right with his arguments.)
But ultimately? I think we need to draw a line with this stuff and say IF you're going to get paid to try to push a certain political agenda? Then you need to be limited to influencing the voting citizenry. Give THEM the info they need to vote the way you want them to vote to make the change happen, or give them the list of their senators and congressmen who are already on-board with the idea. Unless you do this, you're accepting a situation where the voice of the masses is always worth less than money spent to bend the ear of the decision-makers directly, bypassing the masses.
+1 Funny
Oh yeah lets show lots of outrage for their arguably immoral business practices, the fact that their ceo is a total douchbag, etc... .. and then proceed to do nothing about it.
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