How Boxed Water Is Making A Sustainable Impact
One company has found a new, more thoughtful, way to package water and at the same time, lessened waste from their consumers.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Over the years there has been more and more emphasis on leading a more sustainable lifestyle. One company made it their mission to help us do just that, by changing up the packaging of water.
Boxed Water packages water in, you guessed it, boxes, as an alternative to plastic bottles. Not only are their cartons collapsible—plastic bottles aren’t as slim—they are much easier to recycle than plastic. We talked to Ben Gott, the founder of Boxed Water, to find out where he came up for the idea and why “boxed water is better.”
Where did the idea for boxed water come from?
In the mid-to-late 2000’s bottled water was at a somewhat fascinating inflection point: people loved it as a convenient and healthy alternative to soda and juices while, at the same time, it became a bit of “logo” for all things wasteful and ecologically unfriendly. We believe its the job of creative thinkers/entrepreneurs to find unique circumstances like that and take steps to improve upon the existing solution. The convenience water market is continuing to grow year over year and we want to introduce something that more sustainable, more thoughtful, and philanthropic. Our attempt at this is, of course, the Boxed Water product.
Do you recommend boxed water vs. using reusable water bottles?
It’s entirely determined by the circumstances of the situation you might be in. Ultimately, reusable water bottles are the better long-term solution. When clean, safe, drinking water isn’t available, we think our product is the next best option.
What impact has boxed water made on the fitness community—and wider?
The fitness community has led the trend in both healthier lifestyle as well as eating healthy in general. That typically comes with drinking more water instead of sodas or even sports drinks for that matter. With that, they’ve increased both awareness but also the actual market size of packaged water. So, you might say they’ve had more of an affect on us than we have had on them!
What should people know about Boxed Water?
That ultimately we approach everything with thoughtfulness. Our packaging material, our design, our filling and shipping process, our philanthropic focus—everything we touch we consider how it aligns with our focus on sustainability. We’ve been lucky to have had market success and we take the responsibly that comes with that to continue to innovate and improve upon what we started with. We’re incredibly grateful that consumers have supported us thus far.