SMH: Like water for profit

In the United States, bottled water outsells both milk and beer. And if projections about the bottled water industry prove correct, within four years it will surpass soft drinks, the only beverage category that stands in its way to the top.

Considering that clean tap water in the West is widely available for next to nothing, the bottled water industry has tracked a remarkable journey over the last 30 years to the point where it is worth $US60 billion ($62 billion) a year, says author Elizabeth Royte, who has investigated its global ascent.

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