The tide is turning for the bottled water industry and after a decade of unfettered growth, UK sales of bottled water have decreased by 9 percent.
Bottled water is being increasingly banned at local council meetings and Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently announced that his government would be phasing out bottled water in all of its departments.
Campaigners are getting their act together to put the squeeze on bottled water. Think Outside the Bottle, Neau, Refill not Landfill and Water on Tap are just four campaigns amongst many that are hoping to give the industry - and the public - something to think about.
In the US, the mayors of San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and New York have all begun urging people to opt for tap water instead of bottled.
Trendy restaurants in cities around the world have stopped the bottled glut in their establishments, newly offering their diners municipal tap water (sometimes carbonated on site).
In London, Times food critic Giles Coren recently announced a new zero-tolerance toward bottled water, and has started taking restaurants to task for offering it on their menus.
In Canada, 15 campuses have joined church groups, municipalities and other organizations in the "Back-to-the-Tap Movement," which include declaring "bottle-free zones."
Even the National Coalition of American Nuns adopted a resolution against the purchase bottled water unless absolutely necessary. Other religious groups with similar stands include Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, the National Council of Churches, and the United Church of Christ. Could they be getting a message from the guy upstairs? What would Jesus drink?
Tap is just further evidence that people are fed up and thirsty for change.
