Earlier this fall, I discovered that some of my fellow 2009 graduates from Penn had started a social venture called Hydros Bottle. Now that I’ve established a blog platform with a focus on social entrepreneurship, I’ve decided to take this opportunity to write about their startup, which has been featured in the Dell Social Innovation Competition and also received seed funding from the Wharton Venture Initiation Program.
Hydros Bottle started off as an effort to “sustainably provide purified water to increasingly mobile, urban people in the developing world.” But as they discovered in the process of their initial research, the issue of low-quality water was one not limited to just developing countries. Hydros explains, “Many areas of the United States are afflicted with poor quality public tap water that is often laced with dangerous levels of heavy metals and toxins (Find out what is in your water). As a result, we decided first to focus on releasing Hydros Bottle right here at home.”
Many of you may have used filters such as Brita before, but the Hydros Bottle does the pitcher filters one better. No, wait… two better. In addition to using activated carbon filtration like Brita, Hydros Bottle also features a proprietary Inn-Lay technology to remove chemicals from your water. Furthermore, the Hydros Bottle is portable. Essentially, what you get is a bottle with a built-in filter, making it unnecessary to have a big clunky pitcher with you if you’re looking for filtered water. In the Philadelphia airport but don’t want to pay airport prices for bottled water nor drink Philly tap water? Just pull out your Hydros Bottle and fill ‘er up. The water simply flows through the built-in filter, and mere seconds later, you have clean filtered water to drink.
Worried about nasty odor-causing bacteria building up inside your Hydros Bottle? Not to worry. These bottles feature IonArmour microbial protection, which inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold, and other microbes.
To purchase one of these bottles, click here to get started. You’ll be buying a product that provides you safer and better-tasting water, helps the environment by avoiding wasteful consumption of plastic disposable bottles, and promotes a social mission of increasing global access to potable water. Also, enter the code “OperationHydros” to get free shipping and free filters for one year with your order.
If you’d like to read more about Hydros Bottle, check out Springwise’s recent feature from last Wednesday or visit Hydros Bottle’s FAQ page.
