Fiji Water Faces Lawsuit for Making False Promises About Being Natural: ‘These Products Contain...'

Marketers tell stories to make people believe that if they buy a certain product, it will help them solve a problem or satisfy a need. The linchpin of this entire process is trust. If trust weren’t a thing, the supermarkets wouldn’t be bustling with throngs of people every minute, and cashiers would lose their jobs. Only because the customer believes their story and trusts the company’s promise, they go ahead, pick up the product, and shell out their hard-earned money to pay for it. On January 31, 2025, the Plastic Pollution Coalition filed a lawsuit against America’s leading bottled water company, Fiji Water, charging it with “deceptive marketing.”

As seen on the website, Fiji markets its water as the “Earth’s finest water,” which is “untouched by man.” They say this water navigated a long journey from the pristine clouds of Fiji to the ancient artesian aquifer deep beneath the surface. “It’s not just water. It’s FIJI Water,” they describe it. Their characteristic blue-topped bottles typically feature nature-related graphics like mountains, rivers, and, in the latest cases, the national flower of Fiji, a pink Hibiscus. However, the Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) claims that these promises are false and have nothing to do with the actual water in the bottles.

PPC, a non-profit project of Earth Island Institute, filed this complaint in the District of Columbia Superior Court for both a false premise of marketing and a phony promise of contributing to the “environmental sustainability.” They added that the results of laboratory examinations have revealed that “these products contain health-harming microplastics and plastic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), and the companies’ roles in creating plastic pollution.” The reason this matter becomes grave is that this villainous cocktail of plastic chemicals can seep into a human body and affect its functioning to a deadly extent.

The nonprofit describes that these chemicals can trigger problems like fertility issues, sexual dysfunction, heart problems, neurodegenerative issues, and sometimes even death. The organization has also accused the company of wrongly endorsing the idea that they are contributing to “environmental responsibility” with their products. The complaint alleges that Fiji’s pledge to “promote a circular economy” is a false premise. As millions of its bottles are dumped into landfills and blistered in incinerated, the plastic inside them doesn’t just evaporate in the air.

It sits there for thousands and millions of years, spewing toxic gases into the air, which, today, are the leading cause of global warming. “Truth in advertising matters. Microplastics and BPA are neither natural nor healthy, and consumers deserve the truth about the products they consume. We will continue to hold companies like The Wonderful Company and FIJI Water accountable for claims that contradict the true impacts of their products on our health and the environment,” said Scott Hochberg, General Counsel of Earth Island Institute.

The company denied these claims and remained adherent to the quality standards of its products. A FIJI Water spokesperson told Newsweek, "This is a frivolous lawsuit which exists only to 'make an example' out of a brand and distract resources. FIJI Water stands fully behind the quality of its product, which is sourced directly from a natural artesian aquifer in Fiji. FIJI Water does not use BPA bottles or caps, and only uses the highest quality polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin." The masses don’t have a surefire way to know, for sure, what is real and what is fake. But considering that the evidence came from a science laboratory, a speck of doubt is already registered in people’s minds.