Why You'll See This Lesser-Known Water Brand Sold At Starbucks

Starbucks, as far as coffee chains go, is as big of a brand as it gets, with locations in the thousands and its domination extending all around the globe. You're probably usually frequenting Starbucks for its made-to-order caffeinated coffee drinks, snacks, and light meals, but they also carry a range of packaged goods like snacks, bars, and bottled beverages. It might be surprising to note that the options often prominently displayed near the checkout area aren't from the common bottled water brands like Dasani, Aquafina, or Evian. Though you will see Dasani at some locations, Ethos is Starbucks' water brand of choice.

It turns out there's a refreshingly philanthropic reason beyond this decision. Unsurprisingly, a good bit of wheeling, dealing, and pitching went into which bottled drinks are sold in Starbucks stores. But it was Ethos water that won out — beating out the biggies like Pepsi, who also shot its shot of providing the Starbucks H2O (though a Pepsi-owned company, Lucerne, is involved in manufacturing Ethos water). Starbucks acquired the lesser-known brand back in 2005, and it can now be found in all of its locations. And Ethos isn't just another water brand. For every bottle sold, Starbucks donates 5 cents — no small donation compared to other brands that give back — to clean water, hygiene, and other humanitarian causes in coffee-growing regions.

Not just another business deal — though Starbucks' acquisition of the Southern-California based company propelled the once-unprofitable brand into the big leagues — the decision was also environmentally driven. The founders were all about the mission, not the economics, but with Starbucks behind them, the coffee chain gets to have a feel-good story while also growing Ethos into a much more profitable brand. 

Though Ethos's origin story and claim to fame are all about doing good to help address the global water crisis, it hasn't entirely avoided controversy. Though the brand purports to be all about helping communities in need access clean drinking water and other good causes, the very area they were once sourcing water from in California was marked as an "exceptional drought" region, with locals facing dwindling water access. More recently, Ethos switched to the Pennsylvania regions where they now bottle from, but it didn't stop them from getting into hot water, so to speak.

Despite the good they do, choosing any bottled water — which is sometimes just repackaged tap water — should not be done lightly, as the environmental crisis of single-use plastic is doing such harm. So if you're avoiding bottles altogether, don't forget you can always just ask to refill your reusable cup of water at Starbucks with H20 from the tap, so long as you're making another purchase