Today's Kool Idea: FIJI Bottled Water

Okay, we admit it. We are not big water drinkers, and never have been. Trust us...we've given ourselves lectures time and time again about the importance of drinking the requisite eight glasses of water a day, but who are we kidding? We can barely choke down two glasses, and that's with living in hot and humid Florida. While we take responsibility for our irresponsibility just as much as the next person (yeah, right), we wholeheartedly blame the Coca Cola company for our lack of commitment to healthy drinking. How dare they make Coke taste so darn good? We have been obsessed with Coke (the real stuff, not that diet stuff) for as long as we can remember. Scoff all you want, but our Coca Cola addiction has caused a real problem in our household. Our kids are at the age when "do as I say, not as I do" doesn't hold water (had to get that pun in). It's our job as parents to teach our children healthy eating and drinking habits, and the best way to do this is by example. But, we really don't like water. We've tried it all...tap water, filtered water, bottled water (whew, there are a lot of brands out there!), cold water, room temperature water, water with lemon (and/or lime). No matter what we do, the results are the same...blah, blah, blah. Are we prime examples of mature and responsible adults or what?

A friend of ours introduced us to FIJI bottled water a few months ago. She claimed that FIJI water is seriously the best tasting water on the planet (her words, not ours). We always believed that the concept of bottled water is a bunch of marketing hype. Then again, what do we ignorant Coke drinkers know anyway? The FIJI water company claims that theirs is much healthier than other bottled waters, due mainly to their artesian aquifer, which is located at the very edge of a primitive rainforest, hundreds of miles away from the nearest continent. By definition, artesian water comes from a source deep within the earth, protected by layers of clay and rock. Of the top ten bottled waters sold in the United States, FIJI is the only water originating from an artesian source. There is no opening, not even a porthole to the surface. As a result, the water never comes into contact with the air, protecting it from environmental pollutants and other contamination.

One sip of FIJI bottled water, and we were hooked. And it wasn't just the really "kool" packaging, though we admit that the square bottle is pretty nifty. FIJI bottled water has a pure, clean and crisp taste. In other words, it has no flavor whatsoever...just the way it should be. This is truly a refreshing change from the plastic taint so common with other bottled water brands. Don't just take our word for it, though...we certainly didn't. We were curious enough to hold our own informal blind taste test at home with a group of The Daily Kool family members. We gave each of our testers a small cup of each of the following: FIJI, Evian, SmartWater, Zephyrhills, Aquafina and filtered water from the sink. To keep it as fair as possible, we kept all the water at room temperature...apparently (according to some experts), the colder the water, the harder it is to tell the difference. All but two of our testers picked FIJI as their absolute favorite. Our older son was torn between FIJI and Evian, but eventually chose the latter. Our father was the only one who couldn't tell the difference between any of them...we all looked at Dad like he was nuts (including our four year old).

We know, we know. If we were truly environmentally conscious, we wouldn't be drinking bottled water at all...we'd stick with the tap. But don't forget, although we do recycle everything that we can, we've been die-hard Coke drinkers until now anyway. Baby steps, people...baby steps. Don't get us wrong. We absolutely understand and appreciate the controversy surrounding the concept of bottled water, but at least the FIJI water company seems to be pretty committed to doing their part for the environment. They have partnered with Conservation International to become the first “carbon negative” product in the industry and to save the largest rainforest in Fiji. To achieve this, FIJI first accounts for the carbon footprint throughout the entire lifecycle of their products; then, through a combination of meaningful reductions and carbon-reducing land use and renewable energy projects, the production and sale of each bottle of FIJI water will actually result in a reduction of carbon in the atmosphere by 120% of the footprint. They are also reducing the amount of packaging in their products and leading the charge to expand recycling programs and incentives. The company has an entire site dedicated to educating consumers about FIJI Green.

Here's the bottom line...FIJI bottled water has helped us eliminate the need for Coca Cola in our home, therefore helping us adopt healthier drinking habits for ourselves, and therefore in our children. Sure, it's certainly one of the most expensive brands around, but sometimes the old adage "you get what you pay for" really holds true. FIJI bottled water is, in our opinion, the best tasting water out there. We just might decide to take advantage of their monthly delivery service with free shipping. FIJI bottled water has definitely helped our family keep properly hydrated during this particularly brutal Florida summer. Now that's a "kool" idea!

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