fresh or salty?

The problem with water is that it’s gradually running out. Sounds funny when you think that two thirds of our planet is covered with the stuff but what we need to remember is that 97% of the world's water is seawater. Of the 3% that is freshwater, three quarters is locked up in ice which leaves just 0.75% for drinking, watering crops and sharing with all the animals, plants and forests.

To complicate matters further, demand for freshwater is growing (think growth in population and industry) and access to water varies enormously from place to place and throughout the year. Not to mention the fact that water pollution is worsening across the globe. Given all that, it’s no great surprise that we thought it was time we worked out our water impact and what we could do about it.

a virtual water footprint

Now we’re not talking about another dimension here – we’re just thinking about water in a slightly different way. In the UK, each of us directly use an average of 150 litres of water per day (drinking it, having a shower, brushing your teeth, washing your clothes and so on). It doesn’t stop here though. There is also the virtual water that is embedded in every single product we consume each day. Just think how much water goes into making one cup of tea? The tea plants need watering for months while they grow, then the leaves are harvested, processed, packaged and transported – all of which involves more water – and that’s before you even boil the kettle to make yourself a cup. The Water Footprint Network estimates that for every cup of tea you drink, another 120 cups of water were needed to produce the tea. The WWF also did a study which estimates that the virtual water associated with a full day of activities, eating and drinking gives us Brits an average daily water usage of 4,645 litres.

thirsty food

Over 80% of the world’s water is used in agriculture. And since our smoothies are 100% fruit, every single mango, pineapple and berry will have taken varying amounts of water to grow. It’s our priority to understand how much virtual water is embedded in our drinks, and to then assess how effectively the water is being used.