(NYDAILYNEWS) — Ethos, the Starbucks-owned water company founded on the principle of helping others, is bottling water in the heart of drought-ravaged California.
At least some of Ethos Water’s supply comes from a plant in Merced, a Northern California city currently experiencing “exceptional drought,” according to a new report by Mother Jones.
Ethos Water was founded in 2002 with a promise to donate to charities working to improve worldwide access to clean water. Starbucks bought the company three years later, and since 2005, the coffee giant has donated 5 cents for every bottle sold to the Ethos Water Fund.
But the ethical water giant has come under fire after a severe drought hit the area around its California operation.
