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Big change starts with simple, everyday choices.

Brita® Canada stood up for clean water day, which was on March 22. They released a specially designed Brita® Canada reusable filtering bottle. This bottle empowers Canadians to make a statement and provide a year’s supply of water to a person in Irkaat, Kenya.

The statement bottle went on sale March 1, 2017; and was a part of Brita® Canada’s continuing partnership with the WE movement. Their joint pursuit of sustainable change shows through initiatives like Filter for Good™ where each purchase of a specially marked Brita product supports the drilling of a borehole in Irkaat, Kenya to provide the community access to clean water. To date, Brita has provided 23,624 people 1 year of clean water through this change initiative.

“For us, World Water Day marks the perfect opportunity to spark conversation about clean water and what it means for communities living far beyond our borders,” says Sarah Au, Marketing Manager Brita® Canada. “We want to show Canadians the lasting impact that small changes in our everyday choices can have globally.”

One in ten – that’s 663 million people globally – lack access to clean water.  With 80 per cent of illnesses in the developing world linked to poor water and sanitation, Brita® Canada is standing up for clean water with hopes to spark change. The initiative also includes programming for the locals and the establishment of a Water Management Committee to maintain and repair the water infrastructure ensuring an uninterrupted water source for the community for years to come.

The immediate impact of access to clean water on the community is a decrease in waterborne illnesses, but there is a longer lasting trickle effect that reaches beyond improved health. Clean water is the first step in breaking these communities out of a cycle. Every day, women and children living in Kenya have to walk an average of six kilometers to find and collect water. Around the world, women and girls spend 200 million hours a day retrieving water. This borehole is not only providing access to clean water, but giving time back to these young women so they have the opportunity to get an education and realize their potential.

“It starts with being conscious of the choices we make and the impact we are capable of,” says Au. “We can make a better world, just by making better water and it starts here at home, it starts today.”

Through the purchase of the Brita® Limited Edition ME to WE Statement Water Bottle, Canadians are standing up for clean water for communities like Irkaat, Kenya but also, here at home. Brita filtering bottles remove contaminants in tap water and replaces up to 300 plastic water bottles from ending up in landfills. Filter for Good™ is about providing for clean water for everyone.

Canadians can also actually see the change they’re making through their choices. As part of WE’s transparent giving model, all specially-marked Brita® Filter for Good™ products – including statement bottles, pitchers and filters – are marked with a Track Your Impact code that consumers can go to www.brita.ca/impact, enter their unique code and see exactly where and how their purchase has made an impact.

“Clean water is what Brita stands for. It’s about time we stood up for it and lead by example,” says Au. “Big change starts small.”