The other day Meredith and I were at Starbucks. During our wait, which is a period of its own, we noticed they were selling bottled water by the name of Ethos. I was most intrigued not with the fact they were selling water for $1.80, but that the display featured a group of children from Africa happy because they had clean water. The display said that part of your purchase of that water goes to help provide clean water in Africa. Good cause. Sounds like a good idea.

So with 10 minutes to go till getting our coffee, I picked up a bottle and began to read it. Soon after I did this, a sickening feeling took over my stomach as I read on the label that they will donate 5 cents of each bottle sold to this humanitarian effort. 5 cents! That's a whopping 2.5%! That's not a humanitarian effort. That's a tax write off.

I'm not opposed to selling water for $1.80. You can sell water for whatever price you want. That's capitalism. What's most uncomfortable about this product isn't the price, it's the marketing of the product.

The display and the label sell the water as a humanitarian effort. I was disgusted to read that 2.5% of of the sale goes to the ensuring clean water around the world. While I acknowledge the cause as a great need, I can't help but think that it is being used as a tax write-off with great publicity.

I'm not saying that I disagree with the concept of this product. I think it's a great concept. But I do think you need to be honest about what the product really is. It's about redirecting some money the company would pay for taxes, not giving up profits...there's a big difference between the two.

I think this is the type of stuff that angered Jesus the most. He talks about this in Luke 11:42. Jesus tells the Pharisees that it's their donations are done to gain fame and noteriety for themselves. They are using a good cause for personal gain.

I feel this is what Starbucks is doing with Ethos water. If you want your voice to be heard, you can be heard by clicking here -> http://www.starbucks.com/customer/contact_forms.asp?nav=3f.