Our love of bottled water has placed our health and our environment at risk. KOR WATER and world-recognized industrial design firm RKS have combined efforts to create an innovative, empowering, and sustainable personal hydration solution.
For life, there must be water. When we talk about Earth survival, it's not just about being "green"... it's about preserving and caring for the blue - the waters of our world upon which the Blue Planet thrives.
Though most of us are lucky enough to have fresh water as close as the nearest tap, our passion for bottled water has had a heavy impact on our environment. Water expert Peter Gleick suggests that, to understand the hidden energy costs associated with packaging, processing, and transporting bottled water, we imagine "filling up a quarter of every bottle with oil." To make matters worse, only one in five of these bottles is recycled. And it's not just landfills that these discarded bottles are clogging up. In 2007, marine biologists discovered the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," a massive, continent-sized flotilla of plastic garbage between San Francisco and Hawaii.
The KOR ONE Hydration Vessel is a response to the need for a healthy, sustainable, and environmentally sound way to stay hydrated. Not intended for a trek to the Outback or the Himalayas, the KOR ONE was designed to fit our everyday lives - to be equally at home on an executive's desk, in a yoga studio, and at your side throughout the day. A key part of what makes the KOR ONE as healthy for our bodies as it is for the environment, is that it's made from Eastman Tritan a ground-breaking new plastic that is made without Bisphenol-A (BPA). A chemical found in the polycarbonate widely used to make reusable water bottles, BPA is a hormone disrupter that has been linked to diabetes, cancer, and obesity.
RKS created the distinctive obelisk shape of the KOR ONE to elevate the ritual of hydration. Eastman Tritan's rich tactile properties and glass-like clarity enhance the perceived value of the water, the bottle, and the experience. The body of the KOR ONE has a subtle tint of clear blue beach glass, polished by years in the sea. This gives the vessel "a luminous quality that celebrates the purity of water within," said Lance Hussey, RKS VP of Design. The trim of the KOR ONE forms a semi-translucent white frame that evokes a glacier - liquid water surrounded by the most pure ice found in nature.
For intuitive, one-handed operation, RKS developed an innovative cap with a thumb release. Once pressed, the top hinges backwards 180 degrees and stays put so you have unobstructed access to a mouthpiece small enough to sip from, yet big enough for a thirst-quenching chug. When the lid is closed, the latch automatically engages. Never again will you have to steer your car with a knee while using two hands to twist open a water bottle. The KOR ONE's frame extends above the cap to make it easy to handle even when your hands are full. Just loop a finger through the top and you're good to go.
KOR, RKS, Eastman, and manufacturing partner Nypro all worked in concert to ensure that the final product lived up KOR Water's original vision. "We sought to create the perfect water bottle, one in which design inspires, personal health triumphs, and sustainability prevails," said KOR Water President and CEO, J. Eric Barnes. "RKS took KOR's concept to a new level, developing an iconic shape and functional enhancement that surpassed all expectations." The KOR ONE transforms drinking water from a reusable bottle from something we're supposed to do for the health of our bodies and our planet, to a little bit of luxury we can treat ourselves to throughout each day.
The KOR name itself is a play on the word "core" - that which is essential. And little is more essential than water. For KOR and for all of us, water is the core of life. The challenge to contribute in a measurable way to bettering the Earth's environment is daunting to be sure. But every step we take gets us closer to our destination. And every ounce of pre-bottled water we don't use gets us closer to the goal of responsible and sustainable hydration. The KOR ONE Hydration Vessel is designed to be a step toward a solution to this global problem.