Ethics in a bottle

Nestled in the coolers of more than 7,000 Starbucks stores sits Ethos Water, a 23.6-ounce bottle festooned with a map of the world. What distinguishes it from other makes? The company was founded by Peter Thum, a former strategy consultant who dreamed of providing clean drinking water to Third World countries by selling expensive bottled water in the West. His notion was simple: For every bottle sold, Ethos would donate part of the profit to clean-water initiatives in developing countries such as Honduras and Kenya. After three years of bootstrapping a concept that repelled most investors, Thum sold Ethos to Starbucks for $7.7 million in 2005. Already Ethos’s per bottle donations have increased by 263%. By 2010, Ethos plans to give at least $10 million a year to nonprofits that fund safe-water projects. From his new digs in the coffee giant’s Seattle offices, Thum, 39, tells FSB how he got […]

Original post by Technology news - Business 2.0 Magazine