DISQUS

Karen Carter · 5 months ago

I hate these new bottles! They do not sit level on a flat surface, are dented when purchased, and unable to open w/o spillage. I will not purchase this product again!

Joyce Michon · 5 months ago

I am required to drink a lot of water everyday (medically) and have always used Auqafina. The new bottles are terrible. They do not sit straight and fall over. Opening them you get water all over you. I always have my water in Church and the first time I drank after the bottle change the bottle started to contract and made a bunch of crackling noises. It was noisy and embarassing. I really don't like the new bottles. I buy water by the case and the bottles get poked easily and my case was leaking. I am really dissapointed.

Josh · 6 months ago

If a huge billion dollar company like Pepsi wants to help themselves sleep better at night by putting out a bottle made of 50% less plastic...fine, but the least they could do is make the bottle semi stable. Seriously, am I just retarded or is it nearly impossible to open one of these bottles without water spilling out of the top? I mean you have to grip the bottle in order to twist the cap off, and this article itself uses the term "paper thin" to describe the bottle. I want to drink the water, not be covered in it.

Brian · 6 months ago

I agree! These bottles suck. I have yet to open a bottle and not get covered in water.

Chris Baskind · 6 months ago

Several folks have made similar comments. I had no trouble with the Aquafina sample, but I opened it sitting at a desk, not trying anything heroic while driving or something.

I gripped the bottle at the top, where it's thicker, when I opened mine. Your mileage may vary.

Frank · 6 months ago

I've been drinking Aquafina for years and even with the new new eco-fina bottle I will continue. I put the eco-fina bottle into a matching sized thicker wall poly-plastic cup sleeve so I don't crush the bottle and get soaked (Pissed me off first time that happened) I leave the cup in the cupholder in the car. Besides bottled water, I save rainwater and produce boiled/charcoal filter water and refill my own bottles. My wellwater smells like sulfur.

FoodRenegade · 9 months ago

How interesting. I guess it's just one more example of business rising up to meet demand. The lesson? Keep demanding *more*.

Bill · 6 months ago

I dont drink bottled water often. But just tried some Eco-fina Aquafina, and I dont want it to seem as if I am Super-finaman, smashing the bottle in my left hand while trying to open with my right, and spilling 1/2 the contents all over my desk!

DALE · 5 months ago

HOW DID YOU GET IN TOUCH WITH AQUAFINA??? I AGREE WITH YOU, THESE NEW BOTTLES ARE TOO THIN.. SWITCHING TO ANOTHER BRAND FOR NOW,, MY NEW FRIGE ARRIVES IN ABOUT THREE WEEKS, WITH FILTERED WATER< ICE AND CUBED ICE..

April · 6 months ago

I hate these new bottles!! You can't even open the flimsy thing without crushing the bottle and whater spilling everywhere! I will stop buying these because of this new packaging.

Karl · 2 months ago

I spill water everytime I open the bottle, I have a way to fix the problem, how do I contact aquafina?

Dan Simerman · 5 months ago

I Agree! I think change needs to come from Demand Shifting and "voting with our dollars!" does anyone have any ideas how to do this?

Sherry · 1 month ago

Maybe not such a good idea. I bought 2 cases of this water at Sam's club for a meeting we had. A case is packaged with no cardboard bottom, assuming to save paper, so about 2/3 of the bottles had damage to the bottom of the bottle and would not stand up on their own. Very unhappy.

Gavin Hudson · 9 months ago

I agree with the line: "While no disposable plastic product will ever be truly sustainable, we’d be less than honest if we didn’t admit that the new Aquafina bottles are a step in the right direction." Nicely done, Pepsi. However, if people stop demanding disposables altogether, it'll be a bigger landmark.

Rae · 9 months ago

DIdn't Ozarka do this a few years ago??
http://www.ozarkawater.com/DoingOurPart/EcoShapeB...

Chris Baskind · 9 months ago

Yes, they did. These Aquafina bottles, though, are the thinnest things I've ever seen.

Holly H · 2 weeks ago

Ozarka is part of Nestle. You should watch the movie "Flow". Very enlightening...

David-green thoughts · 9 months ago

It is still a really bad idea. Plastic bottles of water are a blight, and are not essential so they should be eliminated. I am not sure whether they are ESSENTIAL in emergencies, but if they are, that is the only place they should be used.

Chris Baskind · 9 months ago

Our position on bottled water and plastic waste hasn't changed. But as someone who lives in a hurricane-prone area, I'll reiterate that any environmental damage caused by plastic bottles in relief situations takes a back seat to saving lives and preserving human health. We'll cleanup afterwards. ;-)

FakePlasticFish · 9 months ago

Oh, you knew I'd be all over this one!

I appreciate that they are trying. But the whole idea of bottled water is wrong-headed in the first place. They are bottling and shipping *water* ! Yes, it's necessary in an emergency. But that's no what they have in mind. The environmental impact of water bottling has to do with so much more than the actual bottle. It's the impact of extracting water and shipping it away.

I also appreciate that compared to spring water bottlers, Aquafina has less of a shipping footprint because they have bottlers all over and can do it more locally. But still, they are bottling and selling our water back to us. To me, it just sucks. And it discourages people from drinking their tap water and from pushing for stronger regulations for tap water.

Oh, you know all this. I just had to say it. I wouldn't buy Aquafina even if it came in a biodegradable bottle. Just wouldn't do it.

David · 9 months ago

There is a growing trend of corporatization of water... ok, got that out of the way.

I remember as a kid at summer camp, 45 years ago, one of the campers during a trip to town asked the store owner how much the water cost. For the rest of the summer, the other kids made fun of this, and a song was written ("How much is that water in the fountain? How much will that water cost me? How much is that water in the fountain? Is it one dollar, or two dollars or three?"). Most would not let him forget his "ridiculous" question. Who knew at that time that enough of the public would be as gullible and buy water 30 years later?

Chris Baskind · 9 months ago

Oh, I knew you'd be along. ;)

Nothing about this "eco" bottle has changed my opinion regarding bottled water. It's a rip-off, period. Beyond relief purposes, the idea of paying a dollar or more for a half liter of any kind of water is a grotesque indulgence. As you point out, it doesn't matter what sort of container it comes in.

Someone will soon add a comment to this thread about the growing corporatization of water.

Mike_Driehorst · 8 months ago

So, with AquaFina and others' less-plastic plastic bottles and related products, do we now have a new term: "eco-friendlier"? Not eco-friendly, but closer?

Hey, maybe I'll trademark that term.
-Mike

OrganicMania · 8 months ago

Chris, I thought your review was a lot more even-handed than you let on in your tweets. What you say here is HUGE: "If every manufacturer of bottled water adopted similar technology, the industry would save more plastic each year than is currently being conserved through recycling. Given the economic slowdown and reduction in demand for recycled materials, this seems like a pretty good deal. Sure, you’d be a lot better off filtering your own water and carrying it in a reusable, BPA-free container. But less plastic is less plastic."

I confess - and Beth will kill me - to buying this stuff sometimes. No, it's not a good idea. Yes, I have four reusable water bottles, but sometimes I forget them, and if my kids are DYING OF THIRST, well sometimes I have no alternative...because there are just not a many water fountains around as there used to be! (Or have we just gotten thirstier?)

Holly H · 2 weeks ago

To me, if you recycle the bottle it is not that big of a deal. I recycle everything recyclable that comes into my life. I even pick up recyclables off the street and in parking lots and take them home to recycle. It is sad that they feel that 80% of plastic bottles are not recycled...

lonesophist · 8 months ago

It's interesting to me to watch companies struggle to find ways to sell products to a consumer group who protests so strongly against people using their products.

GreenLantern · 8 months ago

Some entities are certainly making progress - but there are so many common misconceptions surrounding sustainability. Check out our myth-busting video “What’s Your Big Green Lie?!” which gives a taste of the widespread ignorance of green issues at http://www.biggreenlies.com. You'll be surprised.

KCM · 7 months ago

Only reason i bought Aquafina was because of their heavier, more durable plastic. And now it's gone. Screw eco-friendly, just make decent products. I normally used a single water bottle for days or weeks, refilling it with filtered tap water until the bottle was unusable in some way. But now, with the new eco-friendly bottle, the freakin thing is lucky to even last 2 days. What a POS.

Mark · 7 months ago

Glad Aquafina is trying to do something different, if it doesn't solve the problem completely. We can always do more to help stop global warming. There's a really site that just posted the winning videos of it's competition at

http://www.tomorrowsworldcompetition.com/

If you have strong feelings on water efficiency and/or flooding from global warming, then watch these and send them to people you know. Everyone can help turn climate change around.

Andy · 7 months ago

Well I think the new bottles suck. Too thin and im paying the same amount. They even advertise it like its a better deal for me.

Bubba · 6 months ago

I hate drinking out of these new cheesey thin bottles, It crumbles right in my massive manly hands.

Joseph Camposa · 6 months ago

Bring the old bottles back. These razor thin p.o.s. bottles are the worst things. The person that thought of it should be shot. I will no longer purchase bottled water. Lets see how these retarded companies think when their sales start slumping.

Sorcerer · 5 months ago

The combined forces of the economic downturn and environmental pressures are causing a sharp slowdown in the global bottled water market, according to a recent analysis by global beverage industry specialists, Canadean. The situation is most marked in the USA, where Canadean is forecasting annual growth of under 1% for the next five years. This is a significant deceleration from the double-digit rates seen from 2000 to 2008, and has major implications for the PET plastics industry, in particular.

Sorcerer · 5 months ago

The Coca-Cola Company has unveiled a new plastic bottle made partially from plants. The "PlantBottle™" is fully recyclable, has a lower reliance on a non-renewable resource, and reduces carbon emissions, compared with petroleum-based PET plastic bottles.

Rusty b&gt; · 5 months ago

I am a long-time Aquafina drinker and liked the old plastic bottles.The new Aquafina bottles are GREAT, if you like a bottle that will not stay standing on its own when full, and a sharp little plastic piece that either came from the bottle interior or near the cap area. Fortunately, the 5/8" plastic 'hook' got got on my lip before entering my mouth. I'm glad I didn't swallow it. Pepsico really blew it on the new bottle design and quality control. I will be calling Pepsico Monday morning to tell them of my experience.

james · 5 months ago

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Thanks for caring
James

dianne · 4 months ago

These new bottles are ridiculous. You can't even stand them up because the bottom has rounded. They are so flimsy you can't open them without water spilling. We have switched to a different brand.

denise · 4 months ago

i'm so conflicted. aquafina is my favorite tasting water, but i hate the new bottles! they make so much noise and unless you're very careful, water comes shooting out the first time you squeeze to take a drink. BUT, i'm happy they are more eco-friendly. perhaps pepsico will keep working on a more user-eco-friendly bottle!

s thompson · 4 months ago

The new eco bottles are terrible. They puncture, spill, leak. I can buy any other brand that has a firmer bottle and guess what. I am and I will.

GL · 4 months ago

There are so many design problems with this "new" thin bottle "design" that it must be attributed to junior engineers and lack of usability testing. I suggest everyone call AquaFina (pepsi) the # is on the bottle and complain. I sent back three of the worst bottles I've ever seen. One had a 'C' curved shape, another one was completely crunched and almost leaking - NONE OF THE 24 thin bottles I bought could stand up on a counter on their own. Water spills all over the place. It's a time delay effect, the bottle appears to be standing upright, then it falls over when you're not looking. Just idiotic. I purchase bottled water infrequently to keep in the car and/or for camping. The bottles could have been designed at least with a concave bottom so they would be likely to stand up on a counter. Or, they could be less tall and a greater diameter. We're suppose to give them free design advice? I have to use those can-insulator foam things with some extra tape-padding to keep the aquafina thin bottle standing upright and I rarely purchase these now. I use a PUR filtered water pitcher and a ceramic gravity water filter product also.

J · 4 months ago

I love aquafina water, and have bought cases of it for years. It is the only water I drink. BUT, I absolutely hate the new bottles. They are cheap and flimsy. You can't stand them up straight and it makes a watery mess when opening them. I am sad to say that I will be moving on to another brand. It makes me so mad that they have done this!!!! I will never buy those chinzty bottles again.

Alisa · 4 months ago

I've been a loyal aquafina drinker for years but due to the usless new bottles I will be finding a new water to buy. I've yet to open one without wearing part of it. I took a bottle with me while having test done at doctors office and the nurse got it on both of us when she opened it for me. Hate all the noise the new bottle makes also. They have lost many of their long time users I think with this change.

James Bauer Jr · 1 month ago

These “new” bottles suck! Their form is easily subjective to minor mis-haps.
If it falls over and dents. Some bottles comes deformed and do not sit right and have a tendency to fall over. I don’t know about if gravity works in “Aquafina Land” but it works in Pittsburgh. I buy my water by the case from Sam’s Club; Deer Lakes or even Dasani is about 5 seconds away from being my favorite choice. Actually I have a leaning tower of H2O sitting to my desk in front of me. Forget about even trying to fix it either. A few minutes ago, the bottle fell over and my pants are wet! I said to myself, “why in the hell is these bottles so flimsy!” So I Googled the subject of “why Aquafina bottles suck” and here I sit with wet pants, another leaning bottle (the other was empty and thrown away) of great water and posting this message here on your web site. Tomorrow, I will make a call, send an e-mail and a letter (via US Mail) to the company about this.

James~

Gabi · 4 weeks ago

Absolutely agree. The beverage industry and their marketing forces are the biggest source of consumer behavioral change in the 1st place from creating demand and now trying to close the cycle of waste. All created to expand markets and slotting of shelf space within a saturated category.

ksmal1 · 2 weeks ago

Aquafina needs to take in consideration for senior citizens and especially the ones who have arthritis in their hands. They are unable to open the aquafina bottles with the smaller twist off caps. My mom can't drink the water if I am not there to open them for her. I hope that the right person reads this to change the caps back to the old caps.

Linda · 1 week ago

love the water...hate the bottle! I'm getting angry every time I open a bottle and spill the contents or set it on a coaster and it falls over.

bottlebreaker · 6 days ago

OK, phew, I thought it was just me. Every time I open a bottle I get a free hand washing. We have thrown away (recycled) 12 full bottles so far, because of the leaks all over the bottoms. They puncture so easily going from store shelf to cart, to check out to cart, to car to pantry. Got one leaking on my desk right now...