Picking out which bottle of water to buy should be easy, right? But what if one advertised that when you buy their water, you are helping support clean water for poor children? The decision is suddenly a lot easier. That is exactly what Peter Thum, creator of Ethos Water, expected. Ethos Water is a bottled water company inspired by a social mission to provide clean water for children around the world. After being acquired by Starbucks, Thum’s goal is to raise $10 million in by 2010 by contributing 5 cents of every purchase of Ethos Water. But is this truly altruism or merely a deceiving marketing tactic?

It is believed that the Ethos Water project may end up doing more harm than good. One billion people in the world live without fresh drinking water and Americans are fortunate enough to have access to potable tap water. However, Americans have gotten into the habit of buying glamorous, expensive bottled water, not to mention the water is not as strongly regulated as tap water and 90% of the bottles end up in the landfill.

In order for Starbucks to reach their $10 million goal, they will need to sell 200 million bottles of water. But instead of consuming 200 million bottles of water, imagine donating the $1.80 you would have spent on an Ethos bottle directly to one of the water aid organizations that Ethos Water supports. That could create a huge impact on this devastating issue. Give to a charity here: www.universalgiving.org/

However, raising money is only part of Ethos’ mission. Thum says the product, “…allows people to understand the world water crisis and feel as if they are connected to the solution.” Sure enough this product has been successful in raising awareness of a massive global problem. So if you do decide to buy bottled water, Ethos Water may be a good decision, but the choice is up to you.

[Photo from Benjamin Siegel via Flickr]

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