Feature

Trickle-Down Effect

Published May 6, 2006

(Photo: From Left, Davies + Starr; John A. Rizzo/Getty Images; Courtesy of Ethos; Pixelshoot)

Ask not what your bottled water can do for you; ask what it can do for homeless children in Kenya, America’s polluted waterways, and the growing scrap heaps of our disposable society. So say a growing number of bottled-water brands that build their sales strategies around socially conscious causes. Call it hydrating for humanity. The intentions may be pure, but how’s the water? We tapped Blaue Gans sommelier Aldo Sohm, a veteran of a ground-breaking water tasting in his native Austria (tap beat out all the bottled brands), to test the ecofriendly waters.

CLEAR MOON
The Cause
The environment. The swing-top-closure glass bottles are collected, sanitized, refilled, and and reused.

The Source
Mount Palomar, California, and Peru, Maine.

Who's Behind It
A former Anheuser-Busch wholesaler and a former Morgan Stanley executive.

Where to Find It
Sustainably minded Brooklyn restaurants like Chestnut, and private-label clients like Da Silvano, Quality Meats, and Blue Ribbon.

On the Palate
“Very soft, kind of soapy (not in a bad way). Dries out a little on the finish. Six out of 10.”

ETHOS
The Cause
Humanitarian water programs in underdeveloped regions.

The Source
Baxter Springs in the Sierra Nevadas, and a natural spring in the Poconos.

Who's Behind It
Two M.B.A.’s who sold out to Starbucks last year for $8 million.

Where to Find It
A Starbucks near you.

On the Palate
“Silky, soft, very specific, with a kind of oily effect on the tongue. Slight sweetness, kind of sticky. A five.”

KEEPER SPRINGS
The Cause
Protecting and preserving America’s waterways.

The Source
Randolph, Vermont.

Who's Behind It
Robert Kennedy Jr. and friends.

Where to Find It
The City Bakery, Jack’s Stir Brew, Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

On the Palate
“Has a sweetness and freshness, a touch of bitterness. A solid 7.”