Dive Brief:
- Californians are protesting Wal-Mart Stores' use of water from the state for its Great Value water bottle brand, despite the four-year drought California is suffering from and the mandatory cutback imposed by the governor earlier this year.
- While other companies like Starbucks have announced that they would discontinue their bottling operations in California, Wal-Mart doesn't appear to be doing the same.
- Wal-Mart spokesman John Forrest Ales calls the drought situation "very concerning," but said, "Our commitment to sustainability includes efforts to minimize water use in our facilities. We have and continue to work with our suppliers to act responsibly while meeting the needs of customers who count on us across California," Fortune reported.
Dive Insight:
The International Bottled Water Association and other industry defenders point to bottled water's limited use of water resources, which amounts to less than 0.01% of all the water the U.S. uses each year.
Other companies have made strides with reducing their water consumption in California, particularly Nestle, which was also criticized earlier this year for the practice. This week, the company announced that it would reduce its water consumption in California by about 63 million gallons of water annually.
Wal-Mart is also joining Whole Foods Markets' growing force of competitors as Wal-Mart adds more organic and all-natural products to its inventory. To combat this, Whole Foods announced changes such as a new store format in its recent earnings report.