Blog action day – & it’s about water…

Isn’t this appropriate for ‘the waterguy’ with a time management challenge when it comes to regular blog updates… but less of me and what’s with the blog action water thing?

 ‘Blog Action Day’ (capitals because it’s official) is an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day with the aim of sparking a global discussion and driving collective action. This year’s topic is water…

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water, which equates to one in eight of us. A lack of basic sanitation (water dependent) causes 80% of diseases and kills more people each year than war does. Children are especially vulnerable and as a parent of a child who’s survived dysentery, it’s a most frightening (water borne) illness which we were fortunate to have nursed our child through.

The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation. So simple, yet so challenging, particularly where politics gets in the way to restrict those least able from helping themselves…

For my part, water is an environmental issue, a sustainability issue and an issue which deserves a global profile as bloggers of the world theoretically unite in one conversation…

I’m not really into research, but the US, Mexico and China apparently lead the world in bottled water consumption, with people in the US drinking an average of 200 bottles of water per person each year. That sounds high to me, but based on this figure, around 17 million barrels of oil are needed to manufacture those water bottles, while more than 80 percent will unlikely ever be recycled.

Which brings me back to where I started out several years ago looking for a better alternative when I realised people won’t stop drinking bottled water just because I think its ecological folly.

I’m pleased, on this particular Blog Action Day, to be able to report how Aquapax is still growing from strength to strength, with a retail listing approaching 500 stores across Europe and with exciting new distribution areas embracing the change we’ve introduced in their own countries.

While it’s frustrating how some UK retailers still won’t talk to us until we can prove with expensive research reports how their particular customers might actually appreciate a more ecologically sensible choice of packaged water, we continue to grow through customer choice exercised within Tesco, Waitrose and Monop (part of Monoprix Group) so this makes three of the largest and most respected retailers in the world.

I’ve updated the ‘where can I buy Aquapax’ listing below with the UK based stores we know about and ask you to please let us know if you’d like to add your local independent retail outlet to this list.

Warm wishes

N

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London fashion / design season

The media’s full of ‘LFW’ and quite right too – it’s something London’s managed to retain on the international kudos stakes and no matter how hard our bankers seemingly try to screw up the nation’s reputation, creativity continues to flourish!

We had a number of requests for sponsorship support this year which is encouraging in a way considering the folk who must have come to know us through our limited Estethica alliance over the past couple of years.

This year’s ‘beautiful people’ sipping our wonderful water were the guests at the Nolcha Fashion Lounge at the Trafalgar Hotel, held in association with Bel Esprit, Gina Conway AVEDA and AMAKA, all co-ordinated through my lovely friend Lucy at the independent and supreme quality label Tammam. This was one of two events with Gina Conway AVEDA – but the brand is a favourite of mine…

We also assisted the extremely well patronised Ecoluxe Show held at One Aldwych and opened by Nick Clegg’s wife Miriam Gonzalez Durantez along with an entourage of journalists… The Ecoluxe event showcased some of the worlds foremost and celebrated ethical designers, hence the celebrity vistors who tend to know their stuff… 

And at an altogether more sedate pace we’ve again worked with our good friends Sam and Valerio over at Gallery Fumi in Tabernacle Street and at their private space on Hoxton Square.

There were other visitors sampling Aquapax at some of the more discrete shows in town, but if I write about those, they’d lose some of their intimacy next year… 😉

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where to buy AQUAPAX???

As our iconic blue cartons establish their presence ever wider, we’ve had quite a few e-mails here at head office asking which Tesco and Waitrose stores AQUAPAX are now available in here in the UK.

Independents typically don’t tell us when they stock a product, and depending on the professionalism of the wholesalers, they can frequently experience out of stock periods, so here’s the list of the multiple stores we know this far, listed alphabetically… NB. If the store isn’t specifically listed as any other, then it’s a Tesco store listing.  If there’s no store near you yet, please be patient…

In addition to countless independent stores near you which already stock AQUAPAX, it is a listed product in both Tesco and Waitrose warehouses; if your local store doesn’t stock them in their range, you can ask for them to be stocked for you. (say please 🙂 )

As of writing, there’s still no news on our listing within Ocado, but hang on in there – we are too… meanwhile, we’re in selected Tesco.com stores, wherever there’s a superstore in the ‘picking’ area…

1-23 CITY RD LONDON – Tesco Express

124 TOTTENHAM COURT RD., LONDON – Tesco Express

125 THE STRAND, LONDON – Tesco Express

248 FULHAM ROAD, LONDON – Tesco Express

279 KINGS ROAD, LONDON – Tesco Express

50 CURZON STREET, LONDON – Tesco Express

700 FULHAM ROAD, LONDON – Tesco Express

82 HOLLAND PARK ROAD, LONDON – Tesco Express

87 GLOUCESTER RD, LONDON – Tesco Express

ACTON, LONDON – Tesco Express

ALDERLEY EDGE – Tesco Express

ALDERSGATE – Tesco Express

ALRESFORD SOTON – Tesco Express

AMERSHAM HILL AVE – Tesco Express

AMERSHAM,LONDON ROAD WEST, AMERSHAM, BUCKS, HP7 0HA

ANERLEY RD CRYSTAL PALACE – Tesco Express

ASCOT HIGH ST – Tesco Express

AYLESBURY EXTRA,BROADFIELDS RETAIL PARK,AYLESBURY,BUCKS, HP19 8BU

BAKER STREET, LONDON – Tesco Express

BALHAM, LONDON – Tesco Express

BALHAM, LONDON – Waitrose

BAMFORD – Tesco Express

BARBICAN – Waitrose

BARKING,HIGHBRIDGE ROAD,BARKING,GREATER LONDON,IG11 7BS

BARNES – Tesco Express

BARNET GREEN BIRMINGHAM – Tesco Express

BASILDON MAYFLOWER RETAIL PARK, BASILDON, ESSEX, SS14 3HZ

BASILDON PITSEA EXTRA,OFF STATION LANE,BASILDON, ESSEX, SS13 3JU

BATHWICK HILL BATH – Tesco Express

BATTERSEA RISE, LONDON – Tesco Express

BAYSWATER – Tesco Express

BEDFORD RIVERFIELD ROAD,RIVERFIELD DRIVE,BEDFORD, MK41 0SE

BELSIZE PARK, LONDON – Tesco Express

BELSIZE ROAD, LONDON – Tesco Express

BISHOPSGATE METRO,158-164 BISHOPSGATE, LONDON, EC2M 4LN

BLUEWATER – John Lewis Food Hall

BOREHAMWOOD TESCO EXTRA, SHENLEY ROAD, BOREHAMWOOD, HERTS, WD6 1JG

BRAMHALL CHESHIRE – Tesco Express

BRENT CROSS HENDON WAY TESCO, TILLING ROAD, LONDON, NW2 1LZ

BRENTWOOD – Tesco Express

BRIGHTON QUEENS RD – Tesco Express

BROMLEY – Tesco Express

BROOKLANDS EXTRA, BARNES WALLACE DRIVE, WEYBRIDGE, SURREY, KT13 0XF

BURNHAM HIGH ST – Tesco Express

BUSHEY HEATH – Tesco Express

CAMDEN, LONDON – Tesco Express

CANARY WHARF – Waitrose

CAVERSHAM – Tesco Express

CHAFFORD HUNDRED – Tesco Express

CHALFONT – Tesco Express

CHELMSFORD PRINCES ROAD,PRINCES ROAD,CHELMSFORD,ESSEX,CM2 9XW

CHELSEA, LONDON – Tesco Express

CHESHUNT TESCO EXTRA,BROOKFIELD CENTRE,WALTHAM CROSS,HERTFORDSHIRE,EN8 0TA

CHISWICK HIGH RD, LONDON – Tesco Express

CLAPHAM HIGH ST, LONDON – Tesco Express

CLAPHAM JUNCTION – Waitrose

CLERKENWELL – Waitrose

CLIFTON, NR.BRISTOL – Waitrose

CLIFTON BRISTOL – Tesco Express

CLIFTON RD MAIDA VALE – Tesco Express

COLCHESTER TESCO EXTRA, HIGHWOODS SQUARE, COLCHESTER, ESSEX, CO4 9ED

COLNEY HATCH TESCO, COPPETTS CENTRE, NORTH CIRCULAR ROAD, N12 0SH

COVENT GARDEN TESCO METRO,22-25 BEDFORD STREET, LONDON, WC2E 9EQ

COVENTRY ARENA TESCO EXTRA, PHOENIX WAY, WEST MIDLANDS,CV6 6EN

CRADDOCKS ASHTEAD – Tesco Express

CROUCH END – Tesco Express

CROUCH-END – Waitrose

CROUCH ST COLCHESTER – Tesco Express

CROXTED RD DULWCH – Tesco Express

CUFFLEY – Tesco Express

DANBURY – Tesco Express

DATCHET – Tesco Express

DEAN ROW RD WILMS – Tesco Express

DEAN STREET METRO, DEAN STREET,LONDON, W1D 3RS

DERBY HILTON – Tesco Express

DIDSBURY – Tesco Express

DORRIDGE SOLIHULL – Tesco Express

DROVEWAY HOVE – Tesco Express

EALING TESCO METRO, UNIT 20 BROADWAY SHOPPING CENTRE, LONDON, W5 5JY

EALING WEST – Waitrose

EASTBOURNE MEADS – Tesco Express

EDGEWARE ROAD – Waitrose John Barnes EAST SHEEN – Tesco Express

EMMER GREEN – Tesco Express

EST RD SHOREDITCH, LONDON – Tesco Express

EUSTON ROAD, LONDON – Tesco Express

FARNHAM COMMON – Tesco Express

FINCHLEY,21-29 BALLARDS LANE,LONDON,GREATER LONDON,N3 1XP

FLEET – Tesco Express

FLEET STREET LONDON – Tesco Express

FOREST ROW – Tesco Express

FORTUNE GREEN RD – Tesco Express

FOUR MARKS ALTON – Tesco Express

FULHAM – Tesco Express

FULHAM PALACE RD – Tesco Express

GALLIONS REACH TESCO EXTRA, 1 ARMADA WAY,LONDON, E6 7FB

GEORGE ST LONDON – Tesco Express

GOODGE STREET METRO,10-16 GOODGE STREET,LONDON, W1T 2QB

GRAYSHOTT HASLEMERE – Tesco Express

GREENFORD HOOVER BUILDING,OLD HOOVER BUILDING,GREENFORD, UB6 8DW

GREENWOOD CROWTHORNE – Tesco Express

GUILDFORD BRIDGE – Tesco Express

GUILDFORD,ASHENDEN ROAD,GUILDFORD,SURREY,GU2 7UN

HALE – Tesco Express

HAMMERSMITH TESCO METRO,13-16 BROADWAY CENTRE,LONDON, W6 9YD

HAMMERSMITH,180 SHEPHERDS BUSH ROAD,LONDON, W6 7NL

HAMPTON HILL – Tesco Express

HARPENDEN – Tesco Express

HARROW STATION ROAD TESCO,STATION ROAD, HARROW, HA1 2TU

HATCH END – Tesco Express

Hatfield Extra, Great North Road, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9

HAVEN GRN EALING – Tesco Express

HAYES UXBRIDGE RD – Tesco Express

HAYES YEADING TESCO EXTRA, GLENCOE ROAD, HAYES, UB4 9SQ

HEATH ST HAMPSTED – Tesco Express

HEATON MOOR STOCKPORT – Tesco Express

HEMEL HEMPSTEAD TESCO, JARMAN WAY, HEMEL HEMPSTEAD, HERTS, HP2 4JS

HENLEAZE – Tesco Express

HIGH WYCOMBE LOUDWATER, LONDON ROAD, HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKS, HP10 9RT

HIGHBURY TESCO METRO, 43 HOLLOWAY ROAD, LONDON, N7 8JP

HIGHGATE HIGH ST – Tesco Express

HISTON CAMBS – Tesco Express

HOLBORN VIADUCT – Tesco Express

HORNSEY HIGH ST – Tesco Express

HOVE – Tesco Express

HOVE DENMARK VLLS – Tesco Express

ICKENHAM HIGH RD – Tesco Express

ISLINGTON GREEN TESCO METRO, 25-29 ISLINGTON GREEN, LONDON, N1 8DU

JERSEY FARM ST ALBANS – Tesco Express

KENSINGTON METRO, 146-158 HIGH STREET, LONDON, W8 6SU

KENSINGTON TESCO, WEST CROMWELL ROAD,LONDON, W14 8PB

KENTISH TOWN – Tesco Express

KEW GARDEN – Tesco Express

KING ST HAMMRSMTH – Tesco Express

KINGSCROSS TESCO METRO, 21 CALEDONIAN ROAD, LONDON, N1 9DX

KINGS ROAD CHELSEA – Waitrose

LANGFORD BICESTER – Tesco Express

LEWISHAM TESCO, 209 LEWISHAM ROAD, LONDON, SE13 7PY

LEYES LANE KENILWORTH – Tesco Express

LILLIPUT POOLE – Tesco Express

LITTLE CHALFONT – Tesco Express

LOCKSHEATH SOUTHAMPTON – Tesco Express

LONDON BLACKFRIARS – Tesco Express

LYCHPIT BASINGSTOKE – Tesco Express

MAIDA VALE – Tesco Express

MAILBOX BIRMINGHAM – Tesco Express

MARKET WINCHESTER – Tesco Express

MARYLEBONE – Tesco Express

MELCOMBE ST LONDON – Tesco Express

MONCK ST VICTORIA – Tesco Express

NEW BARNET – Tesco Express

NEW MALDEN TESCO EXTRA,300 BEVERLEY WAY, NEW MALDEN, KT3 4PJ

NEWBURY TESCO EXTRA, PINCHINGTON LANE, NEWBURY, WEST BERKS, RG14 7HB

NEWTON MEARNS – Tesco Express

NORTH END RD WEST KENSINGTON – Tesco Express

NORTHAMPTON SOUTH TESCO EXTRA,CLANNELL ROAD, NORTHANTS, NN4 0JF

NOTTINGHAM TRINITY SQUARE – Waitrose

NORTHFIELDS EALING – Tesco Express

NORTHWICH REGENCY – Tesco Express

NOTTING HILL GATE TESCO METRO,114-120 NOTTING HILL GATE, LONDON, W11 3QE

NOTTINGHAM COMPTON – Tesco Express

OAKWOOD – Tesco Express

OLD BROAD ST – Tesco Express

OLD BROMPTON RD – Tesco Express

OLDSWINFORD – Tesco Express

OLNEY MARKET PLAC – Tesco Express

OLYMPIA HAMMERSMITH – Tesco Express

OSTERLEY TESCO EXTRA, OSTERLEY PARK, ISLEWORTH, GREATER LONDON, TW7 5NZ

OXFORD ST. ALDATES – Tesco Express

OXFORD STREET – John Lewis Food Hall

OXFORD TESCO,UNIT 7 OXFORD RETAIL PARK,OXFORD, OXFORDSHIRE, OX4 6XJ

OXLEY PARK MILTON KEYNES – Tesco Express

OXTED – Waitrose

PIMLICO – Tesco Express

PORTOBELLO ROAD TESCO METRO,224-226 PORTOBELLO ROAD, LONDON, W11 1LJ

PURLEY TESCO EXTRA, 8 PURLEY ROAD, PURLEY, GREATER LONDON, CR8 2HA

PUTNEY HIGH ST – Tesco Express

QUAYSIDE NEWCASTLE – Tesco Express

QUEENS RD WYBRDGE

QUEENSWAY TESCO METRO, 138/142 QUEENSWAY, LONDON, W2 6LS

READING TESCO EXTRA, NAPIER ROAD, READING, READING, RG1 8DF

REGENT ST CLIFTON – Tesco Express

REGENT STREET TESCO METRO,17-25 REGENT STREET, LONDON, SW1Y 4LR

RICHMOND TESCO METRO,29 GEORGE STREET,RICHMOND, TW9 1HY

RIDGEWAY RD FARNHAM – Tesco Express

ROMFORD TESCO EXTRA, 300 HORNCHURCH ROAD, HORNCHURCH, RM11 1PY

ROYAL HOSPITAL RD – Tesco Express

RUSSELL SQUARE – Tesco Express

SANDHURST TESCO EXTRA, THE MEADOWS, SANDHURST, BERKS, GU47 0FD

SHEFFIELD FULWOOD – Tesco Express

SHENFIELD BRENTWD – Tesco Express

SHENLEY – Tesco Express

SIDCUP TESCO,EDGINGTON WAY,SIDCUP, GREATER LONDON, DA14 5BN

SLOUGH WELLINGTON TESCO EXTRA,BRUNEL WAY,SLOUGH, SL1 1XW

SOUTH WHARF PADTN – Tesco Express

SOUTHAMPTON ROW – Tesco Express

SOUTHEND TESCO EXTRA,PRINCE AVENUE,WESTCLIFF-ON-SEA, SS0 0JP

ST ALBAN BEECH RD – Tesco Express

ST GEORGES WHARF – Tesco Express

ST JOHN CLERKNWLL – Tesco Express

ST JOHNS WOOD – Tesco Express

ST MARGARETS TWIKENHAM – Tesco Express

ST PAULS LONDON – Tesco Express

STORRINGTON – Tesco Express

STOTFOLD – Tesco Express

ST. KATHERINE’S DOCK – Waitrose

STRATFORD UPON AVON TESCO, BIRMINGHAM ROAD, STRATFORD-U-AVON, CV37 0UA

STRATFRD BANBURY RD- Tesco Express

STUKELEY MEADOWS – Tesco Express

SUNBURY-ON-THAMES TESCO EXTRA, STAINES ROAD WEST, TW16 7BB

SUTTON CHEAM TESCO EXTRA, OLDFIELDS ROAD, SUTTON, SM1 2NB

SWAINS LANE HIGHGATE – Tesco Express

TABARD SQUARE LONDON – Tesco Express

THEYDON BOIS – Tesco Express

THORPE BAY – Tesco Express

TORQUAY LYMINGTON – Tesco Express

TOTLEY SHEFFIELD – Tesco Express

TRAFALGAR SQUARE – Tesco Express

TWICKENHAM EXTRA, MOGDEN LANE,ISLEWORTH, GREATER LONDON, TW7 7JY

TWICKENHAM LONDON – Tesco Express

UNTHANK RD NORWCH – Tesco Express

VALLEY PARK SOUTHAMPTON – Tesco Express

WANSTEAD – Tesco Express

WATFORD EXTRA,239-241 LOWER HIGH STREET, WATFORD, HERTS, WD17 2BD

WATLING RADLET – Tesco Express

WEST BYFLEET – Tesco Express

WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTRE – Waitrose

WEST HAMPSTEAD – Tesco Express

WEST ST ROTTINGDN – Tesco Express

WESTMINSTER BRDGE – Tesco Express

WESTERN RD BRIGHTON – Tesco Express

WHITE CITY – Tesco Express

WIMBLEDON – Tesco Express

WIMBLEDON HILL – Tesco Express

WIMBLEDON METRO,OLD TOWN HALL, THE BROADWAY, GREATER LONDON, SW19 8YA

WINCHMORE HILL – Tesco Express

WINDSOR – Waitrose

Please let us know if you have any difficulties finding AQUAPAX in any of the above stores. Sometimes we’re in the fridge and other times on the shelf – co-ordinating a retail listing isn’t as straightforward as you think… 😉

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a beautiful life…

Well it rhymes with trouble and strife, but no-one really wants to read of another’s woes, so I opted for the more palatable headline… We too have the day to day pressures of running a growing business, late paying customers and un-cooperative banks, but in the wider scheme of things, we’re winning down here at AQUAPAX head office, with both our customer base and distribution network moving in the right direction. More importantly, as an entrepreneur with a reasonably healthy ‘macro’ perspective, we remain healthy and happy as a family during those precious (few) hours we spend together.

Someone bought my attention to a hydration article recently which is worth sharing… Recent research has uncovered habitual dehydration among 96% of the UK’s office workers, which has prompted a campaign by one of the more worthy natural juice companies (Juice Doctor). It’s designed to educate the nation and encourage healthy hydration habits, urging people to check the colour of their urine as a matter of course and setting the nation a goal to ‘keep it light’.

Apparently two in every three Brits are dehydrated and while our bodies offer an accurate visual detector to understand our individual hydration level, there’s a distinct lack of understanding of what the campaign refers to as ‘simple biology’. Their findings show that 93 percent of office workers either don’t check and/or don’t know what the colour of their urine indicates. For those who didn’t study biology, the lighter your urine, the better you’re hydrated!

The ‘Keep It Light!’ survey polled over 1,000 UK office workers and apparently a shocking 75 percent of UK office workers cited their first response to a headache as taking headache pills rather than drinking more water. This coincides with my observations at the fabulous designer label Theatre de la Mode’s Olympian Exhibition in Brompton Rd last week; we allowed a significant quantity of water for consumption on a hot evening, only to find a majority seeking hydration in vodka punch. It was a nice punch, but moderation went out of the window! Still, the wise ones would have been grateful for their AQUAPAX experience next morning…

Back to the report, which claims the majority of folk surveyed, 60% believed they drank enough water, less than 4% were actually getting the recommended 7+ glasses of water per day. Shockingly (from my perspective) almost three-quarters of the respondents admitted to drinking either no water at all or only one to two glasses.  I find it’s a good discipline to keep my AQUAPAX on my desk at work. I can then re-fill it from the water dispenser (aka tap) and put the lid back on to keep my water cool inside the pack rather than sitting in an open glass warming while awaiting colleagues to cough in it… (bad image but that’s the reality!)

It’s proven that a mere 2% drop in hydration can lead to a massively disproportionate 20% drop in concentration. This leads to the ‘Keep It Light!’ campaign crux which warns a habitually dehydrated worker can be wasting up to one day per week in loss of concentration. Staggering statistics!

Enough of the public service broadcast for one blog, what’s happenening at AQUAPAX head office I hear you ask… Yes that was a typo if you looked closely, but if it’s good word for a 4 year old, it’s cool by me!

AQUAPAX has commenced the long awaited launch into the first 60 Tesco stores, primarily across the south east of England, but some as far afield as the midlands where we’re in Coventry and Stratford Upon Avon. It’s an ambient listing in the first instance, which means the AQUAPAX will probably be on the shelf rather than in the fridge, however, that’s the way it has to be before we can roll out to a more accessible store base within a more prominent front of store location.

We’re awaiting the wider scale roll out before making noise and generating attention to our presence, which we’re planning to coincide with our new website – running a little late but live before the Summer’s out.  On that note, it’s time to start the week – well it is almost 07:00 so the week has officially begun. Keep smilling 🙂

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this is my why…

It’s a challenge to read my optimistic embrace of 22^nd April (below) and reconcile it with how the news of the gulf oil slick – which unfolded later that same day – made and continues to make me feel. The wonderful ecological initiatives being undertaken by so many good people are dwarfed by the continuing devastation in the gulf. 

All the recycling in the world is undone by whatever went wrong deep under the sea. We watch as it spews its foul smelling hydrocarbons wreaking havoc on the ecology of the southern United States. I’ve twittered about this and other aspects of life, but resurrecting a full blown blog seemed unattractive to me up to now.

I spoke at the Brighton & Hove Chamber breakfast last Friday and a friend of mine, Gordon Borer, quoted Simon Sinek to me and reinforced something deep within; Gordon stressed to keep telling ‘my why’. To communicate my vision of how AQUAPAX will bring the wider culture change in our consumer society which I so earnestly desire… So as it’s world environment day on Saturday (June 5^th) here goes with another creative release… (http://www.youtube.com/brightonchamber ; http://uk.linkedin.com/in/gordonborer ; http://startwithwhy.com/)

My why is driven by the deep feelings I had while watching the tsunami footage back on December 26^th 2004 and how helpless I subsequently felt when my plans to ‘lend a hand’ were vetoed within the structure of the corporation that was my then employer.

This led me to work on a disposable portable water container suitable for long term storage, with comprehensive integrity in terms of its function and carbon footprint. This near obsession and my ultimate mission of launching a premium consumer brand called AQUAPAX, evolved into my strategy to swim up-stream when the ‘institutions’ of the world wouldn’t work with our ‘new business’…

I’ve always loved trees and dropping geography for woodwork was one of the first independent decisions I made, which impacted my education in ways I was then too young to grasp. Working with sustainable forest sources as a renewable material was the only true way I could think of to ensure the future of the worlds great forests. Look closely at the front of an AQUAPAX – you will see this clearly.

I deliberately chose to carbon balance our business energy emmissions because I knew the well meaning green brigade would otherwise leap upon AQUAPAX source being a few hundred kilometres further away than was optimal. Choosing the particular source we did – one of the purest natural mineral waters on the planet – is because I know too much about inferior quality water and was not prepared to develop a product without integrity. (a pure thirst for the environment ®)

We’ve continued to thrive through a deep recession we didn’t budget for because people are getting our message and I feel so grateful that our growing distribution now embraces a tribe of human connections in 4 countries with some major well respected retail alliances already on board our revolution…

Since my last blog on earth day: –

• We sponsored the Estethica Press Day – held at Clarence House.
• We sponsored the first ever exhibition of Palestinian Art – held at Kenny Shatners Rove Gallery in Hoxton Square. (We embrace art & not politics!)
• We sponsored the regeneration project at the Rag Factory off Brick Lane, masterminded by a brilliant young photography student Charlotte Streeter.
• We’ve agreed an exciting sponsorship with Creative Director Chris Kelly and his iconic fashion label ‘Theatre De La Mode’ for their upcoming film premier fashion show in Knightsbridge.
• We sponsored the (non-alcoholic) refreshment in the VIP arena at the Antibes Boat Show.
• We’ve also agreed an ongoing high profile sponsorship with the world famous FIAC in Paris through to 2012.

‘There’s revolution in the air’ – as Bob Dylan sang all those years ago… watch this space as AQUAPAX (the eco-chic conscience of the bottled water industry) gathers increasing pace over this summer and the seasons which follow, or ping me directly with your postcode if you’d like to know where your nearest current stockist is…
I’ll write again soon – I promise.  😉

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Happy Earth Day one and all…

Earth Day is celebrated across the world today (April 22nd) ever since the first ever designated Earth Week gathering which was organised by some particularly forward thinking student folk in Philadelphia back in 1970. Isn’t Wikipedia wonderful? 😉

That particular week started on April 16 and ended on what they called Earth Day, namely April 22. This day has been and continues to be observed with growing global support, up to the point where it’s now recognised in virtually every country on Earth.

As one who didn’t previously make any effort to understand the history of the occasion, it’s always been a day to make an extra effort to reduce my consumption. I cycle or walk to work if at all possible and in my own little way, I try to use whatever influence I have on those around me as an example of ‘living the other way – at least for a day’.

I had a day-dream today – or might it have been a premonition – that one day AQUAPAX will become the global sponsor for Earth Day. In the day-dream there was an inevitable incongruity for a premium eco-chic portable water brand to sponsor something that’s bigger than any brand (there’s a challenge for the guys at Coke) but that led me to ponder a solution…

Instead of going for the corporate style global sponsorship, I decided we can still achieve the token ideal by asking all our regular consumers to use their empty AQUAPAX containers for one more day during Earth Week (proving that by and large, we can almost always make do with what we typically choose to throw away) and then to cut the containers in half and plant a couple of tree seeds in the 2 half containers that leaves them. It’s a fitting way for a container mostly made of wood to end its life and it’s still recycling in a more direct action Earth Day kind of way… Mrs. Green will be proud of me…

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happy birthday to me…

It’s that time of year again tomorrow where I take a day off to celebrate the anniversary of being born… I confess my birthday isn’t as big a deal as it used to be, but the day still merits a bit of chill out time.

This year it’s a picnic in a child friendly farm setting with some good friends and their 2 young lads. I’ll end up exhausted but happy and ready for the Brighton Business Show (complete with real life ‘dragons’ apparently) on Wednesday morning.

I’ve turned down the launch party for Recognise Magazine tomorrow evening – dropped off the AQUAPAX for them on Friday – and considering I’m already out on Thursday evening for the Jaffa Cakes TLV first group showing of contemporary Tel Aviv art here in the UK (with AQUAPAX in support of course) I think I deserve an evening off.

In case you’re thinking this is a little out of character, I confess to having a phone call scheduled with a major retail buyer just before lunch tomorrow, but that’s still a significant proportion of me time for one whole day! 😉

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my social media theory…

I went to the eThursday event at the Corn Exchange in Brighton yesterday evening where Dr. Alex Krotoski (aka the high priestess of social media) revealed herself as a genuine guru in her field.

She is one seriously nice person with a charming and disarming honesty that you can’t help smile at. She spoke generously about her background influences as well as all the tech stuff people were expecting and answered all the questions thrown at her with a considered and full explanation.

I’m pleased to know that I’m not the only one who believes facebook is on its way out and that a real friend is someone you talk to instead of ‘throwing sheep’ at – it’s apparently a facebook thing which I wouldn’t bother with if you haven’t heard of it…

She didn’t necessarily explain why social media has taken off the way it has; no-one asked that question specifically, yet still I wonder…

Social media is a term I didn’t grow up with. There again, we hadn’t ever heard of bottled water or mobile phones in those days (even the new fangled cordless phone versions were pretty chunky) and computers were something banks used instead of calculators… note to self – stop rambling Neil.

But I do remember that when we walked anywhere or went on holiday as a family, my parents would acknowledge neighbours or strangers with a polite greeting and encourage us kids to do the same – not quite as clichéd as in ‘The Truman Show’ but there were definite human acknowledgements and interactions with passing strangers.

I genuinely believe the passing of one of the age old customs of ‘tipping one’s hat’ to a stranger is in some way part of the reason why social media has become so popular today. I believe we all need interaction with our fellow man and that by and large we’re not ‘getting it’ in our daily lives. Talking to strangers on a train or bus puts me into a very small minority category of the populace – hence many of us sign-up to blog or twitter and worse to ‘follow’ strangers; somehow connecting with them and commenting on their musings, without ever meeting.

I do know that ‘harnessing’ (a word that used to have an association with a horse) social media is important for any challenger brand like mine. I do so want to embrace (even hug) the wonderful people who demonstrate their individuality every day by buying AQUAPAX, but it’s sometimes very challenging to find the time to ‘blog’ at the end of a full shift. Keeping up with ‘doing social media’ has become something of a chore for me, rather than the creative release that it started out as. I’m more of a people person than a pc person.

I confess I’m a user and fan of twitter – as the hopefully not too outrageous 140 character musings on the right will testify, and I wonder whether the longer term trend and an increasing workload will move me away from blogging to more cryptic tweets as a way of saying hi… The fact is that I want to tweet a lot more than I do, but I don’t. This is strangely out of a respect for those people who are following me, a lot of whom I’ve never met, who probably don’t want to know every time I have a cup of coffee or what my personal political jaundice is.

My favourite moment of last night was when Dr Aleks (she likes being called ‘Dr’) made the following random (and clearly heartfelt) statement as the microphone was moving around the room: – “man I’m loving this AQUAPAX water – isn’t this great branding?”

I told you she was nice with her self proclaimed ‘funny accent’ she pronounced it in an odd way, but she certainly made my evening with her human connection to ‘my baby’.

Have a wonderful weekend whatever your doing; whoever you are… 😉

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hot healthy bods in Brighton

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of a behind the scenes pre-opening tour of Brighton’s fabulous new venue for anyone wanting to really get their lives back in shape via their bodies…

The title should have given the venue away, as it’s the new Bikram Yoga studio, also known as Hot Yoga Brighton or Bikram in the Lanes. Not to be confused with naked yoga, Bikram yoga classes are carried out in a heated studio, so you wear as little as you’re comfortable with. Bikram has been around since the 70’s and the classes are popular all over world among those who’ve tried it and realised it works. That’s clearly how the format is spreading and we’re delighted that the latest Brighton Bikram practitioners have good taste in their choice of mineral water.

As a lay person (currently non yogi) the benefits of deep stretching in a really warm environment is essentially that our bodies are more comfortable and our muscles more flexible when we’re warm. According to the founder of the discipline, it’s about expanding your lungs from the typical 50% capacity we apparently work at.

The Brighton studio is the dream of Chicago belle Bridgett Ann (BA to her friends) and native Brightonian Simon Goddard and their wonderful positive energy is physically flowing out of them in this the final week before launch. It’s completely infectious and has made me absolutely determined to try one of their beginner courses (somehow) despite my crazy diary commitments.

They have taken a building more used to office workspace and without any hint of compromise, have transformed the open space into a fabulous studio. The investment they’ve clearly made is admirable to any entrepreneur as we all know how to take short cuts, but they’re equally easy to spot when companies do. Bikram in the Lanes hasn’t taken short cuts and the quality feel of their studio, shower areas, heater installation and consummately professional programme will clearly drive their assured success in Brighton.

In case you’re wondering, you should arrive for a Bikram Yoga class fully hydrated, but they don’t encourage guzzling water from an oversized bottle during the class. That’s the time for gentle working and sipping discretely the wonderfully pure AQUAPAX water they have available for you at the studios. Paris, Amsterdam and now Brighton – it’s amazing how true quality award winning products are in harmony together.

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common sense…

It’s less common than you think – I was reading this piece put out by ACE UK on sustainable material awareness and it highlights to me the non-contiguous government policy and plainly evident absence of common sense regarding making any impact on climate change. Should we be surprised from a bunch of bureaucrats who needed the independent media to point out how to fill in an expenses claim form?

From my own efforts I know central government will not engage with us on their blanket VAT rates for retail products. These don’t discriminate between the carbon sensitive and carbon intensive (aka AQUAPAX carton vs any other bottled water). They are really good at passing enquiries between various departments and the reason there can’t be any change is always “something beyond control”.  Their whole thinking process appears to be driven by what a particular rule says, irrespective of whether it makes any sense or not, nor its intended application. – I wasn’t going to use the expenses scandal as an example again, but now you mention it… 😉

I’ve written to my MP’s (the one representing the community I live in and the one in the community I work in) and finally got an off-piste response from one (ignored by the other) clarifying how important the issue is and effectively underlining how they champion recycling initiatives which focus on recycling carbon intensive products / technologies; quietly ignoring more sustainable materials which I’d asked about. There was also a hair brained paragraph about potentially rewarding recycling with M&S vouchers!

I’ve previously blogged on the politics of recycling and said it all before – whichever way you look at it the government’s recycling policies don’t make a great deal of sense…

Does make me wonder why we tolerate incompetence in government and why someone hasn’t come up with a better way of staying in touch with the zeitgeist. Message to DC – call me if you’d like some truly innovative thinking when you and your buddies start looking at this mess and wondering how to clean it up.

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