Starbucks has launched a line of bottled water called Ethos. For every bottle they sell, 10 cents (in Canada, a nickel elsewhere) will go to providing people in developing countries with potable water.

Great, except they're selling the water for $2.49 (tax in). And they scheduled a Walk for Water for today, the same day that the NGO group WaterCan had scheduled a fundraising walk.

More from a Now Toronto article:

At Starbucks headquarters in Seattle, vice-president and Ethos Water founder Peter Thum says he wasn't aware of WaterCan's funder and is delighted with their efforts. Thum tells me he got the idea of selling bottled water in 2002. "I was in Africa and saw the world water crisis first-hand. A year later, I started working on founding a company called Ethos Water."

Africa's water crisis inspired him to sell bottles of water to Americans for $1.80 U.S. apiece ($2.49 with tax in Canada). For each bottle sold, a nickel (a dime in Canada) is invested in water access in developing nations. He makes one other thing very clear about Ethos Water's walk: "We're not selling anything."

Sara Stratton of Kairos Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, a group campaigning to save the planet's water and against bottled water, is not reassured. "Maybe they're not trying to sell anything on World Water Day, but every other day of they year they are selling water." Kairos's slogan is "Water: life before profit."

Stratton is not alone either. A website slamming Ethos can be found at www.ethos-water.com.

Thum calls the site "defamatory" but has no plans to drown out the dissent. "It's unfortunate," he says, "but everyone is welcome to their opinion. As of this year we've raised more than $4 million U.S. and helped more than 460,000 people."

Stratton acknowledges the positives of raising money and awareness but is stunned by Starbucks' approach. "They could use their existing profits. I don't understand why they had to bottle water to convince people there are water-access needs."