It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
 | Let Them Drink Fiji Water |
My problems with Fiji Water began before I ever had any to drink. About a year ago, in my frequent travels on business to Chicago, I started noticing bottles of Fiji Water waiting for me in my hotel rooms, available to drink for an extra charge of between four and six dollars. It bothered me that I would pay a great deal for a good hotel room in a major American city, and then have it suggested to me that, if I wanted water worth drinking, I should pay an extra fee per 500 mililiter bottle.
Then, this week, I had a bottle, and well, I still don’t get it. It tasted like, you know, water. I was at a work session to revamp a major brand of fabric softener, and I had to make a presentation, so I wanted to have something to drink on hand, to prevent me from getting a sore throat. All that was available were bottles of Fiji Water. No pitchers of ice water. Nothing on tap. Just a big case of Fiji Water.
Fiji Water is everywhere these days - which makes me wonder just what the people on Fiji are doing for water these days. Are they chugging on great big bottles of Oklahoma Water?
I read the back of a bottle of Fiji Water during that meeting, during a boring speech from the client’s head of marketing, in which he told people that they shouldn’t expect to learn anything during the meeting. Rather, he said, the purpose of the meeting was to learn how to learn. That means, I suppose, that the purpose of his little speech was to help people learn how to learn how to learn. You can see why I was reading that label so intently.
Anyway, the point is that Fiji Water actually comes from Fiji. Yes, Fiji, that location in the remote South Pacific. The Fiji Water company actually collects water in Fiji to put in bottles and ship to the United States for bored businesspeople to drink during meetings about learning to learn. Now that’s a business model I’d like to see examined during an MBA seminar.
Why Fiji? Why Fiji Water? Well, the Fiji Water bottle said that the water in Fiji is artesian, and is some of the most pure water on Earth. Pure? Oh, that’s good. I like pure. Pure is, good for us because it’s, you know pure. Well, then I took a look at the web site for Fiji Water, and I found out that that pure water of Fiji actually has some kind of “balanced” “mineral content” and “high level of silica”. All that’s supposed to be good for me, the Fiji Water web site tells me. But is it pure?
You want pure water? Go and get a gallon of distilled water for 99 cents at the grocery store. You won’t get anything more pure than distilled water. The process of distilling water, you see, turns it into steam, leaving practically all impurities behind, to be recondensed elsewhere as steam. You’ll remember from high school that chemists use distilled water for experiments because it’s pure enough that chemical reactions won’t get screwed up by all that “mineral content” that is found in the kind of water you might find just sitting around - like water from Fiji.
If I’m stuck in a place where Fiji Water is all there is to drink, then I guess I’ll drink it, but it really bothers me to drink water that has been shipped halfway across the surface of this planet, using fossil fuel guzzling boats, airplanes and trucks, just in order for me to feel pure and healthy. I’ve still got the quaint old idea that all human beings deserve to have the water where they live be drinkable.
It just feels decadent for me to drink Fiji Water. Decadence, the professional sermonizers tell us, is what brings great civilizations to the point of collapse. So, it’s also got me angry that the best kind of civilization-ending decadence that America can come up with is Fiji Water. The Romans had fun sorts of decadence, like gigantic sexual orgies. Can we have such affairs as the ship goes down? No, even in our decadence, we have to be pure. Sigh.
One final note about Fiji Water. I see, as I browse the Fiji Water web site, that the Fiji Water brand line is expanding. One can now purchase more than just Fiji Water itself. One can now also purchase “accessories” for Fiji Water. Accessories?!? Since when do we need accessories for water? What could these Fiji Water accessories possibly be? Fiji Water drinking glasses, specially shaped to enhance the pure watery flavor of Fiji Water? Straws?
So far, I cannot find any information about just what these Fiji Water accessories are. If anyone knows what they are, please drop me a line. I would just feel dreadful if I was caught sipping water unfashionably while out in public.
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It seems, to me that the lesson learned here is one taught by that famous professor, P.T. Barnum:
“There’s a sucker born every minute…and two born to fleece him.”
Comment by Mike — 9/24/2005 @ 11:59 am
I don’t see Fiji water sold around here… Maybe I’m not looking hard enough.
The Fiji islands had a LOT of cannibals back when they were discovered by missionaries, y’know.
Comment by HareTrinity — 9/24/2005 @ 7:18 pm
decadence is alive and florishing in more areas than water comsumtion. but, i agree, it’s getting harder and harder to get a glass of tap water these days. restaurants now push bottled water at two dollars plus. i buy a bottle when the need arises then refill the bottle with tap water for future use. am i cheap or am i trying to get as much as i can out of a plastic bottle? also, those fiji bottles look cool and are quite the fashion statement.
Comment by randy ray haugen — 9/25/2005 @ 12:42 pm
I lived in Fiji for 2 years while I was in the Peace Corps. When I first saw Fiji water in the stores I was amazed at the marketing strategy that would claim it was from a pure aquifer on the island of Viti Levu. I don’t know where they found this ‘pure aquifer’ but as populated as the island is I seriously doubt that it could be as pure as they claim. The north side of the island has a large gold mining operation that has tainted much of the water in that area. Sanitary conditions around the island are up to typical third world standards (i.e. pit toilets and washing everything in streams). Mike was right in quoting P.T. Barnum.
Comment by Mark — 9/26/2005 @ 8:12 am
Well, PURE water is TASTELESS, so I doubt that’d sell well. By “pure” I expect they mean “people who taste this think it tastes very pure”, so more of the “nice” sense of the word (the sense of the word that supposedly doesn’t exist yet apparently does).
By law you only HAVE to mention an ingredient if it makes up 25% of the product, though. In England, at least, not sure about America (of course, due to allergic reactions and the ability to sue; most companies mention every ingredient they can think of).
Comment by HareTrinity — 9/26/2005 @ 10:19 am
Yo, biznitch, Fiji water has a distinct sweet taste to it. After drinking Ozarka since 1989, Fiji definitely has an advantage.
Comment by Anonymous — 1/25/2006 @ 11:33 pm
Hm. You want to think about what might be in that “natural” water, “bottled at the source” that makes it sweet?
That doesn’t sound like an advantage to me. It sounds like a scary mystery.
Besides, I’ve had Fiji Water myself. Doesn’t taste any different to me.
Comment by Junga — 1/26/2006 @ 5:53 am
Fiji water actually tastes great to me. Way too expensive for my wallet though. The mineral content is what gives water its taste, some people are more sensitive than others. My friends did not believe I could tell the difference until I blind taste tested and sucessfully identified tap water and three brands of bottled water.
That being said, I normally drink water from a Brita filter. In Philly, the water has a definite clorine taste(I sometimes smell it in the shower)which is removed by the filter. It tastes better than the bottles of Poland Spring which I usually refill with the filtered water.
Dasani, sold by Coke, which is filtered water with minerals added back, tastes good to me too. Pepsi’s Aquafina tastes terrible. Most people I know can not seem to tell the difference though. This must be why fast food is so popular.
Comment by ponagathos — 2/28/2006 @ 4:54 pm
In responce to the main artical, all I can say is; gods I hope those people on Fiji aren’t chugging on Oklahoma water. The water in this state is some nasty stuff.
I hear that you can tell how pure water is by freezing it. The foggy stuff in the center is all the impurities and the clear ice around the edges is the clean. If that is true, than even filtered Oklahoma water is still 50% - 70% polluted.
Comment by Damen — 3/1/2006 @ 1:04 am
i am doing a report for school on fiji water and i looked at their website and they don’t give a lot of information about what they do to make the water pure or how much water they take out of the aquifer or any of the sorts of things people should know. so i wrote the company. if you want to know about the accessories and if the water really is pure, that is what you should do, too. they may write you back with some interesting information. you can contact them from the site.
Comment by katherine — 3/13/2006 @ 8:55 pm
haha.. funny…article.
I cant believe the hype about Fiji Water.. !
I live in Fiji and everyone drinks Fiji Water… from the tap! It doesn’t come in bottles, and I don’t think the Prime Minister would afford what is called “Fiji Water” here in the states.. haha.
Very awesome marketing strategy though.. they first got their brand into public view here in the states by having it as the drink during the Grammy Awards.. 2002ish.. so its actually “Hollywood” that sells Fiji Water.. not the “purity”.
Comment by bbay — 3/13/2006 @ 10:32 pm
Can we say MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING. If it looks good, it must taste good, right?
Comment by Nash — 3/19/2006 @ 8:28 pm
I’m reading about Fiji water in the book called “Water and Salt” (that is also touting Himalayan crystal salt) and they are saying that the crystalline structure of the water molecule of Fiji water is preserved intact and it is the integrity of the molecule itself which is the secret to it’s desirability. Regarding distilled water and other processed waters, the refinement process destroys the crystalline structure of the molecule and renders it “energy-less” and in the case of distilled water it becomes lifeless to the point of being harmful to the body. Anyone truly interested in water should get this book.
Comment by Terry — 4/4/2006 @ 12:28 am
Man, I got a chuckle out of that, Terry. Liquid water is not crystalline. It consists of one oxygen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. If you destroy the integrity of that molecular structure, you, um, don’t have water.
Comment by Jim — 4/4/2006 @ 6:59 am
i think the guy who wrote this article is a selfish lowlife aimless “selfless” person, who only think about is himself why is he fussing over the water, America or where ever he came from is well of as compared to Fiji. Fiji is just a tiny dot on planet EARTH.Some of us earn our living from this, what are u trying to do ban Fiji water, well if u are, please try getting that mirror of your face and try seing the bigger picture
Comment by islander guy — 5/11/2006 @ 5:26 am
Someone mentioned that they think Aquafina tastes terrible. I couldn’t agree more. Normally, I can’t tell one brand of bottled water from another, but I can always identify the nasty taste of Aquafina. Worst bottled water ever.
Comment by calder — 5/12/2006 @ 7:53 pm
i think evian is the best, smooth taste, affordable, and easy to find.
Comment by leslie — 5/17/2006 @ 6:15 pm
Fiji Water…TASTES CRAP….i live in Fiji and believe me,the tap water is much better.The Fiji Water sold here in Fiji is actually all the rejects that dont get exported…try opening the lid of the bottle on a really hot day…and you will just end up getting HOTTER(pissed).The Fiji Water sold in Fiji have either their labels pasted wrongly or the bottle out of sha[e or somrthing…anfd thats the kind of Fiji Water we get here.But thanks to Americans.Hollywood Stars for drinking this water….you guyz make our economy grow…
vinaka
Comment by Nilofa — 5/28/2006 @ 6:29 am
This article is very poorly written. Personally, a good article results when the writer itself travels to the source of what he/she is writing about. (In this case he was supposed to fly to Fiji to the source of Fiji water). To say that Fiji water is transported to the US by “fossil fuel guzzling boat” clearly shows the lack of research the writer has done. Fiji water is only loaded to boats returning to the US via Fiji (return trip). So basically Fiji Water is stuck in the Fiji Islands until a boat is returning to the US. The author didn’t even mention the company’s many sponsorships of many great events throughout the US such as the fun run for Cancer sufferers. The company also build new schools in Fiji and also upgraded roads. Fiji is a tiny small country and they strive hard in order for Fiji Water to make its way into the US. With smart advertising and strategies, Fiji Water is now America’s second largest imported water behind Evian. They did not force anyone to buy their water. If you dont like it, dont buy it.Millions of Americans and 1st class celebrities cant be wrong when they open heartedly welcome Fiji Water into their body. Overall, very disappointed with the quality of the article. The author is just trying to ‘bash’ a very successful bottled water. Its too late, Fiji water is the best.
Comment by Geoffrey — 6/29/2006 @ 2:46 am
Geoffrey,
That’s an awfully convenient standard you have: you can’t evaluate Fiji Water unless you travel to Fiji first.
Golly gee whizzikers, are you perhaps an employee of Fiji Water?
Comment by Jim — 6/29/2006 @ 9:18 am
Hm, Geoffrey… Those boats don’t burn fossil fuels? “1st calss celebrities” can’t be wrong?
Are we supposed to buy this line? As convincing as Fiji Water itself.
Comment by Junga — 6/29/2006 @ 9:37 am
Evian spelled backwards is niave
Comment by Beth — 7/3/2006 @ 4:06 pm
I’m sure you meant naive.
Comment by Ryan — 7/18/2006 @ 3:18 pm
Misspell spelled backwards is llepssiM!
Comment by Junga — 7/18/2006 @ 3:21 pm
Interesting article . . . people in Cleveland are sort of up-in-arms because the company has decided to bash our city in its new marketing campaign.
“The label says Fiji because it’s not bottled in Cleveland,” brag the ads.
Then the City of Cleveland Water Department did a study showing that Cleveland’s water was actually much, much cleaner than Fiji Water. We’re kind of getting a laugh out of it now. Says a lot about what all of those “1st class celebrities” know, huh Geoffrey?
Article is here:
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1153297876167000.xml&coll=2
Comment by Native Fijian, er, Clevelander — 7/19/2006 @ 10:23 am
Cool
Comment by Bill — 9/28/2006 @ 8:47 am
To let you all know, no matter what process any water, arteisian,
spring,if the bottle is labeled #1 on bottom the plastic is leaching in your water anyway. Oh and bottle re-users you are not only drinking toxic butare at a very high risk for bacteria as well. Be safe everyone and only drink water from bottles with #’s 7 and 4 on the bottom of them. Never re-use a #1 bottle made for one use only.
Who knows if #1 plastic is safe for that one use anyway. We should talk about plastics next.
Comment by ann m — 10/12/2006 @ 2:31 pm
I blogged about their diagram of their “artesian” water source. It is misleading and does contain false information. Read about it on Think In Pictures.
Comment by Jeremiah — 12/20/2006 @ 4:08 pm
great article Jeremiah!
Comment by simplicity — 12/20/2006 @ 4:40 pm
This explanation really is good, and that Fiji Water really is lousy. Let me give it my winky endorsement:
Comment by Junga — 12/20/2006 @ 5:11 pm
here’s a wink on your winky, Junga
Comment by simplicity — 12/20/2006 @ 5:27 pm
Well The accessories for Fiji water are these little kind of cup holders which are about$25 bucks I think the rep told me. And it is supposed keep the Fiji cold or make it cute I don’t know lol
Comment by Fiji Lover — 2/15/2007 @ 4:28 pm
i agree with the article however drinking fiji is like drinking silk. other water doesn’t compare.
Comment by fiji addict — 2/17/2007 @ 12:42 am
So, Fuji Addict, if you love it so much, why not just drink silk?
Comment by F.G. Fitzer — 2/17/2007 @ 8:21 am
Fiji Islands has another brand selling in some countries that has even higher silica than Fiji brand water. its called “Island Chill”. As a health professional I drink Island Chill especially imported by DHL from Fiji.
Comment by Kauffman — 2/19/2007 @ 11:36 pm
I just don’t get it either. A lot of people I know would come strolling into the office with a bottle of Fiji, it’s fancy label mocking my plain blue Dasani or Aquafina or whatever brand of water that was cheapest to buy in bulk at the grocery.
So finally one day I took a sip.
I’m with you on this one. While I do drink bottled water frequently as well as tap, Fiji tasted like any other type of water I’ve ever drank. And at 7 dollars for a 6 pack, I’m sure I’ll be buying it more often. Not.
Comment by Angela — 3/6/2007 @ 10:22 am
Damen,
the foggy stuff in the center of icecubes or frozen water are crystals. If water is frozen fast enough no crystals will form, resulting in clear ice, if the process is slow you get ice-crystals which interact different with light and therefor look white/foggy.
Impurities can play a part in the formation of crystals but the defining factor is speed: water at the edges freezes faster, in the center freezing goes slower. Your Oklahoma water is save, and probably as pure as fiji.
Ice-crystals are sharp and can damage cellmembranes. This happens when you home-freeze raspberries. Defrost them and your micro-multî-punctuated raspberries turn soft. Super-freeze raspberries so quickly no ice-crystal form inside the fruit and you get raspberies that are still ‘in shape’ when defrosted.
If you don’t like the taste of your local tapwater, get a brita filter. If you want to taste real pure and fine water, come to Belgium and try Spa. With an TDS of 33 mg/l it’s far more pure than Fiji (TDS: 210mg/l)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spa_%28mineral_water%29
Comment by Yo.be — 3/6/2007 @ 4:51 pm
From what I know and read especially during the Cleveland State problem is that Fiji Water has high ARSENIC. it is a poison. it kills slowly. so you are actually paying huge money to drink something that is slowly going to kill you giving you cancer etc.
read this link: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0701/gallery.101dumbest_2007/20.html
FIJI WATER IS A PREMIUM POISON ACCORDING TO THE NEWS.
Comment by Jamal — 4/15/2007 @ 7:07 pm
The accessory that Fiji Water sells is known as the “Silver Slipper.” It is a silver-plated coaster that is used in five-star hotels and restaurants. Hotel and restaurant owners were worried that the plastic bottle would not go over well with thier “high class” clients, therefore, Fiji Water came up with an accessory that created $47 million in sales in 2003 alone. If you ask me, this plan was brilliant.
Comment by Preston Johnson — 4/26/2007 @ 1:24 pm
I am compelled to post a few comments, others please feel free to correct and enlighten me. But please - no comments from anyone with a financial interest in the subject water.
Fiji water contains silica? Is that good or something to brag about? Silica is sand - see http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photosil.html - is the Fiji silica something with health benefit or more like finely ground Volcanic glass? Years ago I was informed that crystalline silica is a known carcinogen. “Fiji water comes from an artesian source†- this doesn’t assure its good water, that is simply a description of the nature of the well. (see http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/gwartesian.html I personally would suggest avoiding ingesting this stuff - unless one is compelled in order to impress your dream date or something - the people that are impressed by this sort of display are perhaps too shallow and superficial to be of genuine enduring consequence in any event.
Clearly Fiji has great snob appeal and has been propelled by skillful marketing. Sad but perceptions, presumptions and style always trump boring ordinary substance.
Also see:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0701/gallery.101dumbest_2007/20.html
Comment by expose your bias first — 5/7/2007 @ 8:49 pm
That silver slipper is a huge waste of resources, and a good example of how we’ve gotten ourselves into such an inefficient, wasteful economy and at the beginning of a global warming crisis that will cost huge amounts in money and life. A silver-plated accessory for water? We ought to be ashamed of ourselves for having such a thing.
Comment by Juniper — 5/7/2007 @ 9:03 pm
i live in fiji and i am shocked to hear that is sorrounded almost half of the world.everybody drinks fiji water and i think that fiji water is purer than the tap water .we are are ashamed to hear that
Comment by deeksha — 5/24/2007 @ 3:32 am
I think FIJI water is the best and out of four bottled waters, blindfolded, I was able to pick FIJI. It has Silica, Calcium and Magnesium. It is truly good for you. Our tap water in N.J. is loaded with chlorene and now they are talking drugs. So I would choose FIJI and pay more than to be put in a dangerous situation that we are unaware of and probably will never be enlightened about (our real drinking water)
Comment by Anonymous — 3/13/2008 @ 10:13 am
Of course, that water’s been sitting in a plastic bottle for awhile, hasn’t it? New research indicates that all kinds of harmful chemicals are given off by those plastic bottles, including hormone-simulating chemicals. You want to pay extra for that?
Comment by Horatio — 3/13/2008 @ 11:09 am
i just dont understand why my gf pays 5 canadian dollars for a botlle of water when u can pay 2 for dasany that taste awsome !!!
is it the pretty bottle ??nice tropical plants stickers !!!
but then what water is done bottle goes 2garbage ..it really bugs me that people pay 5 dollars for a litre of water and complaint that the gas is 1,20 a litre !!!uuuuuu so expasive !!not trying to ban fiji or nothin …but !!1
WHAT SO SPECIAL ABOUT IT …???
Comment by ralph — 4/8/2008 @ 8:50 pm
FIJI = Poison… hah great marketing… you pay extra for the Arsenic?
Comment by Anonymous — 4/27/2008 @ 4:14 pm
Oh and Ralph show your GF the article showing City of Cleveland water is cleaner than FIJI… she wont be paying 5$ for that rip off anymore
Comment by Anonymous — 4/27/2008 @ 4:16 pm
I spent a lot of time and energy teaching my kids to be as earth-friendly as possible…they just don’t seem to ‘get it’ about bottled water!! Marketing at its finest…logic and common sense doesn’t stand a chance…sad.
Comment by Me — 4/28/2008 @ 10:10 am
LMAO! I picked up a six pack of this last week and didn’t even look at the price. It was 5 US$. Unreal. I usually just drink tap water but I’m a product of brilliant, multi-million dollar brain manipulation … and I bought it. You’re description is perfect … what a waste of natural resources.
Comment by Matthew Clapp — 4/30/2008 @ 12:08 am
Bottled water is unnecessary if you live in a place with a perfectly acceptable, safe, and efficient municipal water treatment plant. Flouride is added to water in optimal levels for our teeth and protects us from osteoporosis. It’s also about 1000 times cheaper than bottled water which uses a lot of traveling energy that pollutes the earth and uses petroleum water bottles that also use dirty energy and further fill landfills. Recycle you might say, but that still needs dirty energy to be done. City water standards are higher and more regulated than bottled water. If you don’t like it, get an activated carbon filter. I know about this stuff because I’m a civil engineer and I’ve taken a Water Treatment class. In Florida, our water is artesian too. People need to stop being concerned about their stupid fashion statements and start using common sense.
Comment by Jessica M — 5/12/2008 @ 8:37 pm
Wow, I happened to run across this website! It’s crazy to read these ignorant comments from people all over our country. Honestly, bottled or not bottled is all a matter of personal preference. I myself have a brita filter at home and also buy all different kinds of bottled water to hand out to clients at my business. I do not buy fiji only because of costs but I have tried it. My friend buys it bulk at BJs. I personally enjoyed it and did feel that it tasted smoother. I guess my point is let people be. Why call people snots for enjoying Fiji water? It’s simply a prefence that they have. They do have a good looking bottle but you can say the same thing about alot of things marketed in the USA. People should mind their own business and drink whatever water they prefer whether it’s tap or the most expensive water on the market without placing judgements. Its really sad to read some of the above comments.
Comment by Cathy B — 5/13/2008 @ 1:02 pm
What’s sad, Cathy, is that we all have to breathe the smog that’s made by processing and shipping this so-called “clean” water.
Comment by Green Man — 5/13/2008 @ 2:40 pm
I’ve tried Fiji water and I really liked it…it tastes about the same as Evian. It is priced too high though…and as for chemicals from the plastic bottles, who cares…we’re all dying anyways.
Comment by Cali — 7/14/2008 @ 9:06 pm