An article by T Prasetiawan, A Nastiti, and BS Muntalif published in WIREs Water focuses on the perceptual drivers of bottled consumption in Indonesia. Today, bottled water is ‘the’ drinking water in Indonesia as its consumption rises significantly in the last decade. In the USA and Northern European countries where piped water system is reliable, the rising consumption of bottled water had been questioned as bottled water is often not better in quality compared to piped water. This article argues that piped water and bottled water is not an apple-to-apple comparison in Indonesia as direct consumption of piped water is not always possible. The authors also suggest that, because of the substantial marketing efforts of bottled water industry, the appeal of this commodity is not always about good water quality and physical health, but also taste, convenience, mental health, and social and environmental values.
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