It Doesn't Pay to Lie--Especially About Being Green
Once again proving it doesn't pay to lie, Swiss reusable water bottle manufacturer SIGG is headed for court in a class-action suit over demonstrably false claims that its products were free of a potentially unhealthful chemical, BPA. While advertising itself this way, and winning over customers who specifically chose the product for this claim, the company has actually been trying for three years to eliminate BPA in its manufacturing.
Oooops!
Who buys reusable water bottles? Environmentalists. Why do they buy them? First, to protect themselves from plastics leaching into their water from disposable bottles, while continuing to protect themselves from contaminants that may be present in some public water supplies--and second, to protect the earth from the ravages of bottling the water--which has serious costs in carbon footprint, water waste, fossil fuel consumption, etc.
Is alienating your core market a smart or ethical strategy? I don't think so!
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