Bottled water company enters Dallas market hoping to slay plastic

A company that sells water in cans instead of plastic bottles is coming to Dallas, in hopes of making a dent against plastic pollution. Called Open Water, it's a Chicago-based company that sells water in aluminum bottles and cans.

Their lineup includes still and sparkling water in reclosable 16-ounce aluminum bottles; and still water in 12-ounce flip-top cans. They're available at restaurants, gyms, some small grocers, and Whole Foods, mostly on the West Coast. You can buy a case of 12 for $21 online at drinkopenwater.com.

In Dallas, their water can be found at the Zoe's Kitchen chain, but they're hoping to score more wholesale customers in Dallas as well as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta.

"Many of our partners like cafes and gyms have limited storage space and variable demand," a spokesperson says in a statement, to explain the appeal of getting their water delivered. One wonders if their partners possess sinks and glasses.

Open Water was launched under the name "Green Sheep" in 2014 by Nicole Doucet, a Dallas native, and Jess Page; they changed the company name to Open Water in 2018. They have a noble mission: to cut down on plastic bottled water with an option they thought was better for the environment but didn't sacrifice convenience.

They researched recycled plastic, glass, and cartons before settling on aluminum, since it has a higher recycling rate than plastic, is lightweight, and can be recycled "infinitely."

They use the same kind of resealable aluminum bottles used by Coca Cola, although the ones Coke uses are smaller at 8.5 ounces.

Alas, a grumpy story on Treehugger disputes the eco-superiority of aluminum, noting that, after you measure the impact of the manufacturing process, aluminum cans have twice the carbon footprint, and are possibly not significantly better than plastic, although they do cut down plastic, which is still a good goal.

Coke was dallying with the idea of going aluminum, but more recently announced it will transition some of its plastic bottles to 100 percent recycled plastic (rPET) material.

The only truly sustainable way to drink water is from a reusable bottle, glass, drinking fountain, or best of all, your own sink.

The bottled water industry is insanely lucrative since companies like Nestle make billions selling bottled water, but pay next-to-nothing for the water inside the bottles. We're paying for the plastic bottles.