Huh? FOX Includes Bottled Water In Their Eco Gift Bag

13
by Michael dEstries September 25, 2007
Categories: Eats.

asset_upload_file979_4946.jpgLast night, FOX threw their second annual Fall Eco-Casino Party in Los Angeles. Celebrities in attendance included Kelsey Grammar, House stars Omar Epps, Lisa Edelstein, Jennifer Morrison, and 24-star Kiefer Sutherland. (Yes, he was later charged with a DUI after the event.) The event and money raised benefited Habitat for Humanity, The Nature Conservancy and Earth Share.

Now, I think it’s great that FOX held the event but someone has serious got to talk with the people who organize the gift bags. Here’s a good rundown of what they contained,

“On the way out, partygoers were handed gift bags made from recycled Fox billboards. The bags contained one of those energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs that “An Inconvenient Truth” recommended, a candle made from soybeans (no, it doesn’t smell like burning edamame) and a bottle of Icelandic Glacial bottled water.”

Huh? Was the bottled water meant to be a souvenir of something our grandchildren may never see? What was the point of including bottled water — one of the more wasteful and useless energy consuming products — in an eco gift bag? They might as well have included a tire to take home and burn.

Ok, maybe I’m getting a little impassioned here. After all, in the world of bottled water, Icelandic Glacial has recently been recognized as the most eco-friendly of the bunch; taking advantage of several green initiatives to reduce the carbon footprint of the company. Still, the bottled water industry itself is a ridiculous need. I don’t care if the company making it has a green roof, electric cars, and An Inconvenient Truth playing 24-7; to include such a product as part of a sustainable event is like PETA including a chicken BBQ from an organic farm as part of an animal awareness drive. It just doesn’t make sense.

/rant.


Categories: Eats.

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →
  • Dana

    I agree. Bottled water is just so senseless and I can’t really think of any good excuse to give it away at an eco event.

  • Ed Rams

    I think that water they included is actually one of those environmentally friendly brands – I saw they got a global award recently for eco-friendly operations.

  • http://sutext.texeme.com John Bailo

    Here’s something that would be really Green for them to do: going off the air for a year.

  • Emily

    The word that comes to mind is Greenwashing….stoooopid Fox!

  • http://www.groovyvegetarian.com Missy

    i love your peta analogy.

  • Raquel

    I got one of those bags. I too was tripping out at the bottled H2O. Seems someone was asleep at the eco-wheel, because they made such an effort everywhere else. At least they didn’t serve bottled H2O at the event.

    Oh, and Million Trees LA gave away a (little) tree to each guest, which is very cool, but they were crepe myrtles – not exactly native and/or drought tolerant.

    Still, I have to give them kudos for a lot of things they did do right. Maybe next year they’ll manage 100%.

  • http://www.ecostreet.com Tracy

    Not altogether surprising from Fox.

  • http://scalarparty.livejournal.com lee

    meh– considering that the award came from a PET plastic company, there’s no real surprise that Biota or Plus1 water (both made with PLA) won no awards. Sadly, its really easy to win a green award these days and still be destroying the planet = (

  • Jaason

    Ya that PETA analogy was on the mark..LOL

    Anyone getting on the PLA bandwagon better think about how much fertalizer, pesticides and diesel was used to make the corn that goes into the bottle. I believe I read it actually ends up adding more pollution than one made with PET… Now IM for NO BOTTLED WATER unless its an emergency, so PLA or PET wouldnt matter if it was only consumed when tap water was out of commission…

  • Mike Rynolds

    I attended the Fox Eco Casino night and was very impressed with all their efforts. After receiving my gift bag It raised questions in my mind why they would include a bottle of Icelandic Glacial Water. I am a total “eco nerd” and actually did some research on the company unlike the person who wrote this article and the other useless minds who went along and commented negatively without doing their own research! I found that this is the one truly eco friendly Bottled water company in the world. And I don’t mean they just buy credits to offset their carbon emissions. They even went as far as not installing lights in there new factory. The CEO said it was useless to waste energy lighting a warehouse with machines doing all the work. Clever… It is also a fact that Icelandic Glacials Olfus Spring is a natural spring which flows into the ocean. They are not pumping, melting or whatever else you can imagine. They simply catch the water before it gets drained into the ocean. The whole birth of the green community was people doing independent research and thinking for themselves. Please don’t give us a bad name by assuming every company is the same. If this company has found a way to make the luxury of bottled water in an eco friendly way, why would we condemn them???? They are paving the way for other companies to follow in their footsteps and clean up their act! Isn’t that what we want? A Prius is still a car made by a big corporate Auto Manufacture. However, Toyota has  chosen to find more eco friendly ways for use to live our lives. Should we bash them too?? Of course not. Please think for yourselves and do your own research.  Thanks! Mike

  • nku

    I was a little sceptical when i recieved the bottle last night so i did a little reseach of my own and this is what i came up with.. I doubt its real easy to fool the number one Global Warming consultant in the World!?!? Icelandic Glacial was in the bag due to the fact it is a Carbon Neutral. Also the packaging is 100% recylable. Bottled water is everywher… people are not going to stop drinking it, so why not give them an eviromenatly friendly option. Much like how we know have alternitive sources of energy, hybrid vehicals, and so fourth and so on. Where do you think the power comes from for your computers, for the factories from where the recycled goods came from, and so fourth and so on. Think people!!! these goods are all better than the alternative

  • http://www.ecorazzi.com michael

    Yea, I did some research too; hence my link to the company’s environmental efforts — or were you too busy trolling for this company to read the article yourself?

    I applaud the efforts of the company to go green — it’s truly fantastic the steps they have taken. That being said, bottled water has no practical purpose in 1st World countries. Yes, there are parts of the country where people truly want/need alternatives to local water supply — but for the most part, the country has gotten by just fine for decades without bottled water. It’s a waste of resources, energy, and money.

    If FOX really wanted to give people a green accessory for water, an empty glass would have sufficed. Kudos to them on the rest of the event, which did a great deal of good for the organizations involved.

  • Jaason

    To the idiots who applaud the bottled water– read up on how all those freaking bottles are poisoning the earth…What a bunch of Morons…Who gives a shite if they are carbon neutral they are producing a product that isnt needed and creating POLLUTION!!! Carbon neutral is a gimmick they still create pollution its that simple if you buy into the carbon neutral crap your drinking to much bottled water….

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