Here's one for you business owners. It seems everyone's aware of the wisdom of tote bags - even the plastic-mad British are wising up to the damageurban tumbleweed wreaks. So let's sing the praises of reusable tote bottles. Why the business angle? Because they're the savviest of marketing tools!

Plastic drinks bottles were always going to be trouble. (Ask Carmen Salva). The logic is damning: since they're designed to be throwaway, they're made super-cheaply, encouraging corner-cutting in the interests of profit-making. Counter-argument: they're thrown away before the chemicals do the consumer any damage. Counter-counter-argument: disregarding the toxins released when they degrade or combust, the argument still doesn't hold any water. So let's save some time and label them a menace, period.

Tote bottles are the way forward - and the way to look progressive and responsible. Business owners, take note: a custom tote bottle from companies like KleanKanteen or SIGG can be emblazoned with your logo, effortlessly improving your green-cred any time your customer gets thirsty. (Beware, though: bottles from, say, Nalgene still use the B.P.A. that has everyone worried. So, choose wisely).

And why not supplement it by following the German retail model - at the office canteen, add an extra charge to the price of plastic-bottled water, redeemable when the bottle is returned for recycling.

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