John, Bottled water giant BlueTriton -- formerly known as Nestlé Waters -- makes its money by pumping water out of communities suffering from drought and water scarcity. And as more people learn the truth about its unethical business practices, the company is investing big money into sponsorships to repair its damaged reputation. The bottled water giant’s latest partnership is with America’s most prestigious culinary institution, the James Beard Foundation. By sponsoring the foundation’s event series for food lovers under 40, BlueTriton is clearly hoping to make millennials and Gen Zers seek out its bottled water brands. We cannot let BlueTriton get away with its latest attempt to greenwash its image. But the event series only lasts through the summer, so we have to act fast to have an impact. Tell the James Beard Foundation to end its partnership with BlueTriton. Sign the petition now. The James Beard Foundation claims to “champion a standard of good food anchored in talent, equity, and sustainability.” Its awards are the Oscars for chefs and food writers. But BlueTriton’s water is anything but sustainable. The bottled water company’s business model is simple. First secure cheap contracts allowing it to drain hundreds of millions of gallons of water from reserves across North America. Then bottle up the water into fancy single use plastic bottles and sell them at a huge mark up. To make matters worse, the name and the image on BlueTriton bottled water may bear no resemblance to where the company actually sources its water. So even though the James Beard Foundation will be putting the Saratoga Springs logo on its Greens event series this summer, the water is likely to have come from somewhere else entirely. BlueTrition doesn’t care about its misleading advertising, nor about the environmental toll of its operations. The company’s own lawyers say that its sustainability claims are “puffery” not to be taken seriously. And many of BlueTriton's pumping operations are located in areas suffering from drought where local communities fear for their water supply. But the James Beard Foundation puts sustainability and the championing of fresh, local ingredients at the core of its mission. So it is up to Ekō members like you to ensure that the foundation is made aware of BlueTriton's unethical and unsustainable business practices, and urged to cut ties with a company so obviously misaligned with its values. Getting respected organizations like the James Beard Foundation to distance themselves from BlueTriton is crucial to ending the dangerous hold that the bottled water industry has on countries around the world. That is why your signature is needed to help ensure that they take our demand seriously. In February, Ekō members successfully pressured The Weather Channel to end its partnership with BlueTriton. Now we need to convince the James Beard Foundation to do the right thing, too.  Thanks for all that you do, More information: BlueTriton Brands Announces Official Partnership with the James Beard Foundation® for JBF Greens Event Series, 11 April 2023 |
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