

According to Consumer Reports, tests have found PFAS in more than 1,400 municipal water supplies in 49 states. That’s more than 30 percent of all Americans at risk. As many as 110 million Americans may be exposed to PFAS in their drinking water. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement claimed this as a victory after encouraging a boycott of SodaStream based on (amongst other things) the West Bank factory.ĭespite the factory closure, BDS are still encouraging the boycott, which you may want to factor into your purchasing decisions.Water supplies, especially those located near industrial facilities that use or produce PFAS, carry a higher risk of contamination, but most of the country is incredibly vulnerable, as PFAS contamination levels are still not regulated. They have since closed the West Bank factory in 2015. Prior to that they were an Israeli owned company – and many of those owners are still involved with the company.Ī key SodaStream factory was based in an illegal settlement in Israeli-occupied territory in Palestine. SodaStream were acquired by Pepsico in late 2018 for about US$3.2bn (that’s a lot of cans of Pepsi!).

Their Shame or Glory campaign, featuring Game of Thrones stars complete with a woman ringing a bell and chanting “Shame!” as she follows a man who just bought bottled water, put them (perhaps unsurprisingly) in some hot water with the bottled water industry: SodaStream‘s thoughts on their environmental position versus bottled water is pretty clear. Yes of course those gas canisters have to be shipped too – but with one canister making around 60 litres of fizzy liquid it’s much more cost effective (and therefore damaging to the environment) to ship one of those than 60 litres of anything. In that sense the CO2 you’d be using in your drinks machine is ‘recycled’ or at least being reused. They capture that CO2 and sell it to manufacturers to put into CO2 canisters, to make your beer or champagne fizzy or in canned soda etc. Ammonia plants, fertilizer factories, even breweries – anywhere where there’s a fermentation process of sorts – has CO2 as a by-product of their processes. Where does the CO2 in the refills come from?Īccording to the majority of CO2 in the canisters for these counter-top drinks makers, comes as a by-product of industry. So if your bottled water is being transported, even from somewhere comparatively close like the Highlands of Scotland, then that’s adding a lot to the carbon footprint of that bottle of refreshment you have in your fridge. Obviously with water it’s much harder to do that. Shipping 200 tonnes of apple juice is considerably more cost-effective when that 200 tonnes of apple juice can be re-hydrated to make 400 tonnes of apple juice at point of sale. This is to make it lighter, smaller and considerably cheaper to transport. Many consumable food goods when they’re packaged and shipped are dehydrated – they literally have almost all the water removed, then it’s shipped and the water is put back in at the point of delivery. There are lots of factors at play here so the correct answer is: “It depends.” If you currently drink nothing but collected rainwater, then no buying a SodaStream is not going to decrease your environmental impact.Īre you considering buying a SodaStream (or other fizzy drinks machine) to, like us, replace your environmentally questionable bottled plastic water? In which case, it may be better.īut even that can depend on what you’re currently drinking. Like so many things it can depend on your viewpoint, your politics and where you place those things against your life, shopping and financial choices. Get the Discount Is buying a soda stream ethical? If you want to shop direct from SodaStream themselves, we have an exclusive discount offer for you.įollow this link to their website and by giving them your email address, they’ll ping you back with a 10% off coupon!
