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As the population migrates to bigger cities, the bottled water industry is exploding.

Pollution in China is boosting the water bottle business


Wednesday, March 4, 2015, 12:09 PM - China has only 7 per cent of the world's freshwater supplies but 20 per cent of the world's population.

How do they make up for the difference? A fast-growing water bottle industry.

With more families migrating to bigger cities where water is more polluted, they are quickly finding an alternate way to obtain the vital liquid: paying for it. According to The Economist, since 2010 China has doubled their consumption of bottled water. In fact, one of the richest men in China is the owner of the popular bottle water brand Hangzhou Wahaha.


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But recently some of the big players in the Chinese bottled water industry have been marred with controversy. Local officials found that roughly 25 per cent of the bottles contained bacteria. The issue seems to be a war of jurisdiction. Many companies are complying with local standards of the cities they sell their water in, instead of the national regulations that are much more strict.

According to experts, even national standards are not meeting the mark. There are no requirements to test for mercury, silver or acidity. Furthermore the issue of counterfeit bottles, or bottles that mimic bigger companies are also adding to the problem.

This is creating an opportunity for the premium brands, which can afford to become the viable alternative—all while raising their prices.

As more and more residents become skeptical of drinking tap water, bottled water is becoming a form of liquid gold.

Source: The Economist

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