DMZ water coming to a Korean grocery store near you

by Tom Johansmeyer on

With all the bottled water you’ll find on grocery store shelves these days, any new player absolutely has to have a gimmick. There are just too many brands on the market. So, a company really does need to go the extra mile to stand out. That’s probably why “DMZ 2km” is getting some media love.

DMZ 2km is drawn from a plant in the southern half of the Korean peninsula’s Demilitarized Zone, the 4 km border area that has split North Korea from South Korea for more than 50 years. On land, there is razor wire – and plenty of landmines. Soldiers walk patrols, and there’s sometimes gunfire. Underneath all this is a spring that ultimately feeds the plastic bottles that consumers can buy for 600 won (50 cents) a pop.

The water bottle is adorned with a bird, which is representative of the wildlife that now lives in the DMZ, which hasn’t had much human activity in half a century. More than 2,900 different plant species are estimated to live there, along with 70 mammals and 320 bird types.

Lee Sang-hyo, spokesman for Lotte Chilsung Beverage, tells Reuters, “We decided on water from the DMZ because it’s different, and the environment there is untouched, so many people thinks it’s clean.” Fortunately, he continues, “Getting the water is not dangerous at all. We worked it all out with the military.”

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[Photo by Constantin B. via Flickr]

Tourists in Venice urged to drink the water

by Katie Hammel on

Collecting the trash in Venice is no easy feat. After all, it’s not like a garbage truck can just drive down the street – there aren’t any. Garbage is collected by workers with wheelbarrows and then loaded onto barges and costs about $335 million per ton to remove (compared to $84 million per ton on the mainland of Italy).

In an effort to reduce these costs, the Venetian government is asking locals and tourists to drink water from the tap instead of buying plastic bottles. The city’s tap water meets the highest purity standards, but many people are still buying bottled water from stores and in restaurants. To help promote the tap water, officials have started calling it “Acqua Veritas” and selling glass bottles labeled as such. The hope is that the fancy bottles will encourage people people to drink from the tap, reducing trash and the cost to remove it from the island.

With tourists outnumbering locals 100 to 1, visitors to Venice may have the greatest impact on the trash situation. So when in Venice, forgo the plastic and drink from the tap instead.

Road testing the KOR ONE water bottle

by Grant Martin on

As part of Gadling’s Green month it’s part of our responsibility to test out all things green, from the new green hotels down the street to green travel destinations to new green materials and gear.

It’s been a long time coming, but recently we had the opportunity to test out KOR’s new ONE water bottles, a slick series of thin, versatile containers with an eco-conscious ethos. Constructed out of BPA-free Eastman Tritan, the bottles are lightweight, strong and sexy, with a hinged opening at the top instead of the more common, screw lids.

In today’s Nalgene-dominated market, the design is a head turner for sure. Every where we take this bottle we get compliments on it, from the frisbee field to the farmer’s market to the deli, and we’re in a constant state of explaining where we got our snazzy, space-ship bottle.

Functionally, the design is solid, with an opening wide enough for plenty of ice cubes, a strong hinge that hasn’t failed us yet and a strong construct that has survived many a fall. Our only complaint is that we can’t fit a regular scrub brush all of the way to the bottom of the container. Ah, but that’s what potassium metabisulfite is for.

The best part about owning a KOR water bottle, however, is their commitment to the environment. Each color that is sold is associated with a water-centric charity, from The Wetlands Initiative for Watershed Green to The Blue Planet Run Foundation for Orchid Pink. Part of the proceeds from each $30 water bottle sale will go to each charity.

You can read more about KOR and pick up one of their bottles over at korwater.com. If you can afford the $30 pricetag, it’s definitely worth the investment if only for the compliments.

Product review – The Cruising Caddy

by Scott Carmichael on

By now, I’m sure most of you are used to my product reviews involving items with buttons and lights. Still, every now and then I’ll run into a product that is not battery operated, but interesting enough to warrant a closer look.

The BVT Products Cruising Caddy is a travel tote and water bottle holder. The product is roomy enough to hold a 1.5 liter bottle and has 2 pockets on the outside for the random stuff you carry around with you.

Inside the main bottle pouch is a removable insulated sleeve. The front pocket is an expandable Velcro pouch with a “hidden” secondary pocket, and the back pocket is an open top elastic pouch. These 2 pockets offer enough space for your phone, digital camera, paperwork and anything else you need to drag along with you.

On the side of the Cruise Caddy is a metal D-Ring and a clip, for attaching keys.

Of course – bags, pouches and other accessories are a pretty personal thing, but I really do find the Cruise Caddy quite “cool”, and it is most certainly cooler than walking around with a bright green fanny pack (and yes, sadly I do speak from experience here).

The Cruise Caddy is available in black, red and khaki. The black version costs $24.99, and the other 2 colors sell for just $19.99. The product is available directly from BVT products, or from retailers nationwide.

Stay tuned later this week for the Gadling Valentines day giveaway, where you’ll have the chance to win a “his and hers” Cruising Caddy.