Poland Spring

File:Poland Spring logo.PNG

Poland Spring is a brand of bottled water manufactured by a subsidiary of Nestlé. It was founded in 1845 by Hiram Ricker. Poland Spring water is derived from multiple sources in the state of Maine, including Poland Spring and Garden Spring in Poland, Clear Spring in Hollis, Evergreen Spring in Fryeburg, Spruce Spring in Pierce Pond Township, and White Cedar Spring in Dallas Plantation. Recently, the Poland Spring company has invented a new water bottle that uses 30% less plastic than other leading brands in that bottle size.

It is the top-selling spring water brand in America.

Origins

A large pile of half-pint Poland Spring bottles

The brand has its origins in late nineteenth century. Jabez Ricker had bought land in 1794 and two days later travelers knocked on the door asking for breakfast. Repeated requests by other travelers led him to open an inn known as the Mansion House in 1797. In 1844, Jabez's grandson , Hiram Ricker, drank a lot of the spring water and became convinced that it had cured him of chronic dyspepsia. The inn had grown to a resort, and his discussions with guests led them to also praise the drinking water. In this period, it was quite fashionable to "take the waters" for almost all illnesses, causing an uptick in business. The Rickers soon began bottling the water. The inn grew into a significant resort in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but the Ricker family lost control of the company during the 1930s. A resort is still operated on the site.

Water sales

In 1901 Maine's Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics listed eighty-one existing mineral springs. Twenty-three were used for commercial bottling, with total sales of $400,000. $200,000 of these sales were by Poland Spring.

Today Poland Spring sells the majority of its water in portable 8, 12, and 20 oz bottles; 500 mL, 700ml, 1L, and 1.5L bottles, but also carries larger 5 gallon bottles usable in office or in home water dispensers. Smaller 1 gallon and 2.5 gallon bottles are also available for sale in most supermarkets, and for home delivery in the Northeastern United States. Other less popular varieties of Poland Spring include sparkling, lemon, lime, and distilled. All Poland Spring products are sold in plastic bottles, for both safety and economical reasons. They are also the producers of the Aquapod line of products.

In the summer of 2005, Poland Spring changed the color of its 1 gallon bottle cap from dark green to clear and removed the safety seal in favor of a stronger twist off mechanism. The reason for the color change was to reduce the risk of taste complaints while saving money on materials. Poland Spring has since decided to change their bottles to a lighter, less wasteful style. The new style debuted November 2007.

Environmental Record

With up to 30 percent less plastic than the average half-liter plastic beverage container, the new Eco-Shape(TM) bottle is the lightest half-liter plastic beverage container currently on store shelves(1). The innovative technology and engineering behind Eco-Shape maintain usability while reducing plastic content. And Eco-Shape is the latest initiative in Poland Spring's long- standing commitment to the environment. More than 50 people protested against Poland Spring's withdrawal of millions of gallons of water from the town's aquifer. According to the protesters, ever since Poland Spring began withdrawing water from the aquifer, natural springs that feed the pond have gone dry. Additionally, he says the water removal has changed the pond's natural ecology and purity of its water by allowing an increased phosphorous load to spur plant growth on the pond's bottom. In a class-action lawsuit filed, consumers claim that Nestle Waters North America (Nestle), a subsidiary of Nestle S.A., falsely advertises its top-selling Poland Spring brand bottled water. The suit alleges Nestle uses heavily treated water taken from common ground water sources when bottling Poland Spring, but then labels the bottles as spring water and charges consumers a premium price for supposedly higher quality water.

Controversy

Several towns in Maine have objected to the business practices of Poland Spring and its parent company Nestlé. In some towns, such as Fryeburg, Maine, Poland Spring actually buys the water (110 million gallons of water from Fryeburg a year) from another company, the Fryeburg Water Co., and ships it to the Poland Spring bottling plant in Poland Spring. However, Fryeburg Water Co. also sells water to the town of Fryeburg.

The town of Fryeburg began to question the amount of water the company was selling to Poland Spring. In 2004, the town's water stopped temporarily because of a pump failure, but Poland Spring's operations were able to continue. The group H₂O for ME wants to create a tax on water drawn for commercial purposes, however, Poland Spring said the tax would force the company into bankruptcy. State congressman Jim Wilfong proposed a 20 cent per gallon tax be allowed to be voted on in a referendum, but the measure was defeated. He also believes that laws should be rearranged to place limits on the amount of groundwater landowners can pump out of their land.

The Town of Sterling, Massachusetts is attempting to prevent Poland Spring (Nestle) from pumping spring water from conservation restricted town land. Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) has responded to an RFP issued by the Town of Clinton to purchase the Town of Clinton's Wekepeke aquifer water rights located in Sterling, Massachusetts.

External links

• Official Poland Spring Brand