Boxed is the new round.

In 2008 an idea emerged (from Benjamin Gott and Kevin Hockin's brains!) and as of Friday March 13, 2009, the Boxed Water Is Better company was launched publicly at the Grand Central Market in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As they say on their website, about their launch site, 'our favorite place to grab lunch' showing how fun and easy going this company is! Boxed water is exactly what it says, water contained not in round bottles, but in juice carton style boxes. Simple, yet after reading about it, fairly creative and earth conscious (sorry plastic bottle users, not trying to offend but you aren't very earth friendly)

The water contained in the boxes is "carbon-filtered, purified water from Minnesota" which can be purchased at 9 Michigan locations (and more in the future!) They wanted to make a product for the heavily popular water drinking market (think of how popular bottled water is now!) that was less stressful on the environment, and also gives something back.

What makes the Boxed water company unique (other than it being boxed, of course!)

• around 90% of the boxed water container is made from trees-which they claim are managed and harvested in a responsible and ethical way.
• They can be broken down to their original flat state for recycling
• 20% of profits will go back to the sources used for the product-water and trees
• 10% of profits are donated to world water relief foundations
• the other 10% is put back into reforestation foundations

"Our carbon footprint is dramatically lower as our boxes are shipped flat to our filler and filled only as demand is created, opposed to most bottled water companies that ship their empty bottles across the globe to be filled, then shipped back for consumption. The flat, unfilled boxes we can fit on 2 pallets, or roughly 5% of a truckload, would require about 5 truckloads fr empty plastic or glass bottles."

Boxed water has created quite a buzz, has been mentioned in-

• Fast Company/www.fastcompany.com
• GOOD/www.good.is
• Uncrate/www.uncrate.com
• Gizmodo/www.gizmodo.com
• NotCot/www.notcot.org
• Cool Hunting/www.coolhunting.com
• Creativity Online/www.creativity-online.com
• Lovely Package/www.lovelypackage.com
• ffffound/www.ffffound.com
• in a window display at Lamb/ www.lamblife.com
• The Dieline/www.thedieline.com
• The Good Life For Less/goodlifeforless.blogspot.com
• Your Just Lucky Blog/justlucky.tumblr.com
• Ambrose/www.joyandrevolution.com

What can I say, it may not be sweeping the nation yet (esp.since it is only available in one of the 50 states at a teeny number of locations!), but it seems to beat plastic bottles on some counts, it could end up taking over! Time will tell if boxed water really is better...