A girl with a bottle of Fiji Water has become a meme
EVERY DAY ON THE INTERNET HAPPEN THINGS, from which I want to either laugh or cry. Inevitably the question is brewing: what are you doing?
While most of Russia continued to rest on the January holidays, the Golden Globe Award ceremony took place in the USA. In addition to talking about the winners of the award, she presented us with the first noticeable meme of the year - "Fiji Water Girl", that is, "a girl with a bottle of Fiji Water". The girl - as it turned out later, the model Kellet Cuthbert - was handing out Fiji Water bottled water at the event, and parallel to the photobombed a dozen photos of celebrities.
This would not be anything special if it were not for the complicated history of Fiji Water and its uneasy fame. The brand produces "premium" water: celebrities are often photographed with blue bottles, and she, for example, managed to get into the TV series "Friends." Water is extracted in Fiji, on the island of Viti Levu, from where it is delivered to the United States and other countries. It is not surprising that because of this manufacturer they criticize for their dangerous attitude to the environment: plastic and transportation over long distances imply a huge carbon footprint. In 2007, Fiji Water promised to make its carbon footprint "negative" - reduce emissions from production and plant more trees to help the atmosphere. The company promised to finish the plan by 2037, but an investigation into the British Channel 4 in 2011 showed that even the three-year plan for planting trees was less than half completed. The site is dedicated to the program, quietly closed in the 2010s.
In addition, Fiji Water plays an important role in the economy of Fiji - for example, in 2010, experts rated it as the main product exported from the state. At the same time, in Fiji itself, a huge percentage of the population does not have access to clean drinking water - it turns out that many Americans drink local water easier than residents of the country itself. According to small studies, the company has in the past repeatedly helped residents of the island (mainly by providing jobs), but its relations with the state remain ambiguous. Local authorities have repeatedly tried to increase the low tax that the company pays, in response to that Fiji Water has cut jobs - although it later agreed to increase the tax.
COVER: twitter