Of course, increasing numbers of people are prepared to pay a premium for bottles that can be used again and again—not least because we all know the environmental cost of buying drinks in containers that are used once and then thrown away.
the company, has come to market with a product that promises not only to provide an environment-friendly alternative to the plastic bottle but also to divert some of its profits to directly tackling the growing problem of river and ocean pollution.
As Pearson explains, research into the damage caused by plastic was the catalyst for setting up the Ocean Bottle business.
Having met at business school, Pearson and Doman considered ways to address the issue through the medium of a purpose/profit venture.
It’s a simple enough concept.
In one sense, it’s a model that could be applied to almost every consumer product by simply shaving off a percentage of the margin to support a good cause of choice.
In addition to being suitable for hot and cold drinks, the bottle contains a chip that can be scanned when retailers fill it up.
The co-founders stress the importance of providing real numbers.
The headline metric is that to date the company has funded the recovery of around 1.4 million kilograms of bottles on the back of about 124,000 units sold.
So will this make a significant difference? Well, the company itself acknowledges that with around 22 million kilograms of plastic entering the ocean every day, this is a big problem.
I am the author of three books, including The Unauthorized Guide to Business the Jamie Oliver Way, which has been translated into five languages.