Huffington Post - Do you do your homework?

AQUAMANTRA loves being a water to talk about. Write about us, doubt us, call us names, and in the end... you're still talking about us. We're the company moving forward, taking risks and forging new thought into the future. The paradigm is changing and I wish journalists could figure that out, and check their facts- Please! Today I just happen to google us and I found a place our name came up, in an article by Elaine Shannon from the Huffington Post talking about Eco-chic? Or cheap chic? - which would have been a great insertion for the bold move of our stance on creating new biodegradable and recyclable bottles. Instead, I find her calling us the silliest water in a test created by the EWG- Environmental Working Group. They've done a survey on bottled water, Fabulous! Yeah, an F for Fabulous, cuz that's what they gave us! Even though under our Taste the Difference button it clearly stated how our water is filtered, from the spring and it even had our bottled water analysis- and if you actually google us you could find in FineWaters.com our analysis as well. Appears, we need to post the below paragraph on the back of our bottle in order to get a rating that is worthy of the EWG.

How is AQUAMANTRA created and filtered?
Our source Spring Water comes from Palomar Mountain Spring, near San Diego, California. Stainless steel tankers transport the water between the mountain and the production facility. The Natural Spring Water is transferred from the tanker through FDA and NSF approved channels, filtered through a one micron absolute filter to remove any single celled protozoan type microorganism, passed through a high intensity Ultra Violet light to destroy any bacteria,and then stored in stainless steel holding tanks. Prior to bottling the water is again treated with high intensity Ultra Violet light, filtered through a one micron absolute filter, Ozonated to sanitize the water, and filtered again with a 0.2 micron absolute filter.

She goes on to report : "Well, guess what. A bunch of humble, big-box-store, mass-market brands like Wal-Mart's Sam's Choice (B), Nestlé's Pure Life (B) and Ozarka (B), and Walgreens (C) scored best for disclosure and advanced treatment."

Seriously? or is that who paid the most money? Seems some things haven't changed. We love that Elaine Shannon called us silly, it is our goal to inspire people to live outside the boundaries of quote unquote reality. Silly is a great adjective for AQUAMANTRA, I'd rather be the company accused of that then affecting people's lives with bad water, which is what an F rating sounds like. However, that is not that case at all. And below is a letter from one of our advisors to the EWG, who did do her homework on our water let alone all kinds of waters. Is that what the internet has come to just empty facts of untruth? C'mon, we should have more value in what we write then just surface fluff. The scary thing is Elaine wrote this article this year, and this survey was done last year, which means that when she wrote her Eco-Shic? article, she had to have looked at our website and known that we launched the 1st EVER 100% Biodegradable and 100% Recyclable Bottle water that is not PLA, and didn't even include that in her article. And to think I really thought that the Huffington Post was a place I wanted to align with, knowing the background of Ms. Huffington herself -surely she would be proud of an entrepenuer who tried to change the bottled water landscape with a green bottle and excellent water. Instead, all we get noticed for is sillyness. Well, I hope the future is filled with more research filled and authentic journalist than slapsticks who take every SURVEY at face value without doing their homework...

Another slap on the forehead! Why do we even try? Because we can. What else is possible?

Here's the letter our Advisor wrote to the EWG:

Sharon Lindsey here and I knew that I recognized your name as I had spoken to you last year about the EWG study that I got on Google Alerts which analyzed bottled waters from different bottled water suppliers around the country. The overall conclusion of the study which you led, stated that tap water was as safe as bottled water. In our conversation I was curious to know if you and your research team were aware prior and during the study that many of the bottled waters you studied came from municipal water systems which carry the EPA warning statements for the immune compromised stating that it is important to consult your physician and health care provider before drinking municipal tap water because it may be harmful and even life-threatening. I clearly remember you were not aware at that time of this warning statement which is posted on 99.9 percent of municipal tap waters annual reports and websites and a large percentage of bottled waters that come from municipal water systems. Many of the bottled waters your reviewed also carry the same warning statement because it is not safe for the immune compromised to drink.

I am very disturbed to see that EWG is still perpetuating this same misinformation which was recently published on the Huffington Post in which Elaine Shannon used your studies to base her article and negatively rate companies such as Aquamantra giving the water an "F" grade. After I contacted you last year and realized that your study was flawed, I did exhaustive personal research on my own and I chose Aquamantra as a water for me to drink for the primary reason, IT IS SAFE TO DRINK FOR THE IMMUNE COMPROMISED, and a water which surpasses EPA standards. What a shame and a dis-service to your readers and the public who trust your work to not correct this error and omission.

Since finding Aquamantra, I have literally volunteered to try and help them clear this mis-information up as I this kind of reporting is disgraceful and in my personal experience, their product is stellar. The CEO of Aquamantra forwarded me the blog article from Ms. Shannon and I did not put all the pieces together until now. If nothing else, I believe Aquamantra is owed a retraction as the comments in the Huffington Post are of defaming nature. Ms. Shannon can have her opinion about the Mantras on the water which is clearly her opinion, but studies conducted by Dr. Emoto showed that the energy of thought can permeate the molecular structure of water and other living organisms...such as the studies Norman Cousins conducted on psychonueroimmunology ( the mind-body connection, what we think can negatively or positively effect our bodies) at the UCLA School of Medicine. I conducted several workshops based on "positive thought" and upon the recommendation of Mr. Cousins for patients hospitalized in UCLA's eating disorder unit in the 80's with great success. The field of Pyschonueroimmunology is now widely accepted in the medical world, especially in the field of cancer recovery. While I am sure that Norman Cousins was doubted by others for his own personal experience of healing his illness through laughter and positive thoughts, he had the ability to scientifically prove it at one of the leading universities in the world and become the pioneer of the science of the mind-body connection.

In closing, I hope that future articles and studies released by EWG, contain information that is more accurate and based on the diligent attempts to uncover and disseminate detail and truth.

In Health,
Sharon Lindsey