{"id":38567,"date":"2015-08-13T17:08:26","date_gmt":"2015-08-13T21:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uncommongoods.pro\/?p=38567"},"modified":"2016-03-10T12:18:36","modified_gmt":"2016-03-10T17:18:36","slug":"uncommon-impact-clean-water-and-a-cleaner-earth-one-drop-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/2015\/uncommon-impact-clean-water-and-a-cleaner-earth-one-drop-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncommon Impact: Clean Water and a Cleaner Earth &#8211; One Drop At A Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcorporation.net\/what-are-b-corps\" target=\"_blank\">B Corp<\/a> certified company, UncommonGoods is excited about sustainability. That means more to us than just being \u201cgreen\u201d \u2013 we strive to offer products that reflect the environmental and social best-interests of everyone. So, when our makers are as concerned with sustainability as we are, we\u2019re always excited to learn more about their process and the positive impact they\u2019re having on the world.<\/p>\n<p>While many of our makers rely on sustainable practices at one point or another in their process, we\u2019re especially excited about those who place the wider world at the forefront of their craft \u2013 those who are making an uncommon impact. Continuing the water theme from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/2015\/margaret-dorfman-strives-to-be-sustainable-in-drought-afflicted-california\/?source=blog_sustainability_vincepurino\" target=\"_blank\">our interview with Margaret Dorfman,<\/a> we spoke with Vince Purino \u2013 the Vice President of Aquaovo \u2013 about the sustainability implications surrounding the new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/product\/adventure-filter-water-bottle?source=blog_sustainability_vincepurino\" target=\"_blank\">Adventure Filter Water Bottle.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38671\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/vince.jpg\" alt=\"vince\" width=\"620\" height=\"414\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Vince Purino &#8211; Vice President of Aquaovo &#8211; with the Alter Ego <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/product\/adventure-filter-water-bottle?source=blog_sustainability_vincepurino\" target=\"_blank\">Adventure Filter Water Bottle<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Sustainability to us is simply being accountable for the well-being of the Earth\u2019s limited resources\u2026 in our case water.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Adventure Bottle was designed by Aquaovo cofounder Manuel Desrochers as an eco-chic solution to replacing bottled water. \u201cOur goal is to enhance the experience of drinking water with beautifully designed objects that pay homage to this precious resource,\u201d said Vince.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38672\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/manuel.jpg\" alt=\"manuel\" width=\"620\" height=\"775\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Manuel Desrochers, designer of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/product\/adventure-filter-water-bottle?source=blog_sustainability_vincepurino\" target=\"_blank\">Adventure Filter Water Bottle<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe most important part of this sustainability story is that this product is designed for people in urban areas who want a serious water filter that will filter their tap water on a daily basis,&#8221; said Vince. &#8220;If they want to go to a river or lake on the weekend, no problem. If they need to go on a trip to the Amazon for a month, they can have access to clean, safe, good-tasting water. But in reality we are trying to &#8216;trick&#8217; people into filtering their water in the city vs. buying plastic bottled water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/product\/adventure-filter-water-bottle?source=blog_sustainability_vincepurino\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-38674 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/27214_zoom4.jpg\" alt=\"27214_zoom4\" width=\"620\" height=\"620\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Aquaovo filter is just about the strongest filter on the market; originally intended for use by humanitarian workers in countries where clean water is not accessible, it will filter 99% of bacteria and viruses like other filters, but will also remove urban industrial contaminants like chlorine by-products, THC\u2019s, arsenic, pharmaceutical residues, lead, mercury, copper, aluminum, and radon. If people have reservations with or don\u2019t like the taste of their tap water, they have a sustainable \u2013 and portable \u2013 solution.<\/p>\n<p>Drinking bottled water seems harmless enough; you get really thirsty while away from home base and the public water fountain looks like it\u2019s seen a bit too much action, so you make a run to the nearest bodega and guzzle down a Disani. Maybe the bottle makes it into the recycling \u2013 but it\u2019s far more likely that it doesn\u2019t; <a href=\"http:\/\/thewaterproject.org\/bottled_water_wasteful\" target=\"_blank\">80% of bottles in the US don&#8217;t<\/a>. On top of the accumulated waste, it takes more than <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/norm-schriever\/post_5218_b_3613577.html\" target=\"_blank\">50 million barrels of oil <\/a>to pump, process, transport, and refrigerate bottled water each year, which is 2,000x the energy input of tap water. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/bottled-water-costs-2000x-more-than-tap-2013-7\" target=\"_blank\">Bottled water thus costs 300-2,000x more than tap water<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; and twice the cost\u00a0by volume of\u00a0a gallon of regular gasoline.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-38675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/bottles-87342_640.jpg\" alt=\"bottles-87342_640\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019d be easy to fill volumes with social math condemning disposable water bottles as inefficient and destructive to our environment. Plus, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foodandwaterwatch.org\/water\/bottled\/bottled-water-bad-for-people-and-the-environment\/\" target=\"_blank\">almost half\u00a0of what is sold as bottled water is actually just bottled municipal \u2013 tap (!) \u2013 water<\/a>, produced with tax dollars and then sold to the consumer at an inflated cost. If you buy bottled water often, it\u2019s time to make the change.<\/p>\n<p>On top of the enormous environmental benefits of its product, Aquaovo is equally dedicated to helping achieve better social equity related to water security. The bottle provides a source of clean water for its user, but each unit sold also helps support clean water access for your &#8216;alter ego&#8217; in a developing country through the charity <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onedrop.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">One Drop.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39131\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/PicMonkey-Collage5.jpg\" alt=\"PicMonkey Collage\" width=\"620\" height=\"310\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>One Drop is currently working on initiatives in India, Latin America, and Burkina Faso. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onedrop.org\/en\/projects\/\" target=\"_blank\">Learn more about their projects here &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">&#8220;By buying the bottle,\u00a0you will be affecting your alter ego across the world as well as drinking and cleaning your tap water in an environmentally sustainable way,&#8221; said Vince.<\/p>\n<p>The alter ego concept highlights a\u00a0universally equal human <em>need<\/em> for water despite infrastructural inequality surrounding access to potable sources. For every bottle sold, Aquaovo\u00a0donate&#8217;s part\u00a0of their profits to the water charity, which helps to create a long term stream of income for people in need of fresh water around the world via microfinance and seeks to change behavior surrounding water use via\u00a0culturally-specific arts and education programs.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.onedrop.org\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\">Check out more about One Drop here &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-39130\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/central-america-social-arts_copyright-1433353480.jpg\" alt=\"central-america-social-arts_copyright-1433353480\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>One Drop supports education and arts programs to influence behavior change, part of it&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.onedrop.org\/en\/why-one-drop\/approach\/\" target=\"_blank\">ABC for Sustainability approach. Learn more here &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>I asked Vince where in the natural world he would visit, and his response was dripping with enthusiasm for water filtration:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Amazon forest has always captured my imagination with its lush vegetation and millions of diverse animal species\u2026 now I have a portable filtering solution to travel the forest with safe, clean water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/product\/adventure-filter-water-bottle?source=blog_sustainability_vincepurino\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-39134 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/27214_zoom1.jpg\" alt=\"27214_zoom1\" width=\"620\" height=\"620\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So, whether you&#8217;re trekking deep in the wilds of Amazonia with Vince, cruising around the city,\u00a0or making preparations for a nuclear\/zombie\/bio-weapon apocalypse, it&#8217;s time to ditch the disposable\u00a0bottles&#8230; but not literally &#8211; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/product\/adventure-filter-water-bottle?source=blog_sustainability_vincepurino\" target=\"_blank\">it&#8217;s time to ditch ditching said bottles by not buying them at all!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/product\/adventure-filter-water-bottle?source=blog_sustainability_vincepurino\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-39349 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/blogcta-waterbottle.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"96\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Aquaovo, the Adventure Filter Water Bottle is making waves of environmental and economic good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":38683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[743],"tags":[31,1690,58],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38567"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38567"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44965,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38567\/revisions\/44965"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uncommongoods.pro\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}