Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water is promoted to Washington, D.C. consumers as “ethical,” “healthy,” and “sustainable”—despite the product line’s significant and ongoing contributions to plastic pollution
Washington, D.C. — Recycle Hawai‘i and Plastic Pollution Coalition, a project of Earth Island Institute, filed a complaint in the District of Columbia Superior Court on July 2, 2026, against Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water for alleged “false and deceptive marketing” in violation of the District of Columbia’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA). Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water promotes its products as “ethical,” “healthy,” and “sustainable” despite its reliance on single use plastics and involvement in developing a plastic recycling facility expected to harm the local environment.
While Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water advertises its products as “ethical,” healthy,” and “sustainable,” research shows that recycled plastic often contains more chemical additives than virgin plastic, which can leach into bottled beverages. Substances like heavy metals found in plastic are known to accumulate throughout the human body, and have been linked to serious health problems.
These findings run contrary to Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water’s advertising claims, including the following, which appear on its consumer-facing social media, website, and packaging:
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Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water’s brand image is centered around health and environmental sustainability, despite the company’s significant contribution to plastic pollution. Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water, which sells water in plastic bottles, markets itself as a superior alternative to other packaged water companies because it is “one of the only bottled waters to use high-grade 100% rPET.” On its packaging and website, it emphasizes the sustainability of recycling its products’ packaging—despite the fact that most plastic is never recycled, and that recycling does not address the key cause of plastic pollution: plastic production.
As alleged in Recycle Hawai‘i and Plastic Pollution Coalition’s complaint, Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water perpetuates misleading industry narratives around using recycled plastic in its packaging, claiming on its website that rPET has “strong environmental credentials,” is “incredibly sustainable,” and that rPET products “give[] us the opportunity to take better care of the environment […]” Other messaging on Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Water’s website contains the claim that its plastic bottles are “completely recyclable,” and advertises its bottles as “eco-friendly,” touting their “low carbon footprint”—despite the fact that plastic, made from fossil fuels and a growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, is not a low-carbon material. As the Complaint alleges, very little plastic is ever recycled, and instead, the majority of plastic bottles that are collected for recycling are sent to landfills or incinerators, or are shipped overseas, perpetuating plastic production and its resultant plastic pollution, and environmental injustices.
As an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of plastic pollution, Recycle Hawai‘i is compelled to take action when unethical representations undermine our collective ability to make good choices about the products we consume. And until regulatory agencies step up to protect the public from the serious impacts of plastic pollution, personal choices are the only real defense we have against it. Corporations that intentionally thwart our capacity to make good choices for ourselves and our families need to be exposed and held accountable.
— Kristine Kubat, Executive Director of Recycle Hawai‘i
Plastic bottles are plastic pollution—and plastic pollution is not ethical, healthy, nor a sustainable solution. Perpetuating the myth that “recycled plastic” and “plastic recycling” are environmentally friendly, is marketing that deliberately deceives consumers and undermines real solutions to end plastic pollution. Companies that advertise plastic bottled water as “healthy” are ignoring the numerous streams of harmful pollution which plastic creates—from plastic sourcing from oil and gas, to plastic bottle production, all the way through its use and disposal—plastic negatively impacts our bodies, water, air, soil, and environment.
— Julia Cohen, MPH, Co-founder and Executive Director of Plastic Pollution Coalition
