IS IT SOMETHING IN THE WATER - TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF BOTTLED WATER-CONSUMPTION IN THE UK

Despite claims for the safety of tap water for all consumption purpose s, the British public is apparently, not wholly unconvinced about its purity. This article traces the remarkable increase in the amount of b ottled water consumed in the UK since the 1970s, and examines this tre nd relative to that in other European countries as well as in terms of regional patterns of variation within the UK itself. Traditional geog raphical analysis of a range of factors is used to interpret patterns of changing consumption. However, while such analysis illuminates the cultivation of 'want' over and above 'need', the processes by which pa rticular perceptions are arrived at remain to be clarified Advertising is identified as a useful starting point for how bottled water produc ers, as well as consumers, draw on different types of knowledge and ho w, these are valued, used and transformed into consumption practices.