Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice

Unbottled is a book about the impact of bottled water on social justice and sustainability,and how diverse movements are fighting back. It explores the growth of the bottled water market, its environmental and social consequences, and the campaigns to reclaim the tap and end dependence on packaged water.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 19 September 2023
Publisher: University of California Press

An essential book for everyone who seeks to reclaim the commons and build a just and equitable society, Unbottled offers a comprehensive exploration of the impact of bottled water on social justice and sustainability. In just four decades, bottled water has transformed from a luxury niche item into a ubiquitous consumer product, representing a $300 billion market dominated by global corporations. It sits at the convergence of a mounting ecological crisis of single-use plastic waste and climate change, a social crisis of affordable access to safe drinking water, and a struggle over the fate of public water systems.

Unbottled examines the vibrant movements that have emerged to question the need for bottled water and challenge its growth in North America and worldwide. Drawing on extensive interviews with activists, residents, public officials, and other participants in controversies ranging from bottled water's role in unsafe tap water crises to groundwater extraction for bottling in rural communities, Daniel Jaffee asks what this commodity's meteoric growth means for social inequality, sustainability, and the human right to water.

Unbottled profiles campaigns to reclaim the tap and addresses the challenges of ending dependence on packaged water in places where safe water is not widely accessible. Clear and compelling, it assesses the prospects for the movements fighting plastic water and working to ensure water justice for all.

In conclusion, Unbottled is a vital read for anyone who cares about creating a more just and sustainable world. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the bottled water industry's impact on social justice, sustainability, and the human right to water, and offers inspiring examples of the movements fighting back against its growth. By reclaiming the tap and ending dependence on packaged water, we can work towards a future where water justice is a universal right, and where our planet's resources are protected for generations to come.

Weight: 734g
Dimension: 159 x 236 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520306615