Volvic

How ethical and sustainable is Volvic? 

Volvic is a bottled water brand featured on The Good Shopping Guide’s Ethical Bottled Water Ratings Table. Volvic does not reach our Ethical Benchmark to be considered a good, ethical brand and we hope that the brand will make the necessary changes to operate as a more ethical company. Volvic could apply for Ethical Accreditation to allow for a more in-depth evaluation that will provide recommendations for ethical improvement.

Visit The Good Shopping Guide to Ethical Bottled Water for additional details regarding the value of ethical plastic bottles and bottled water. Compare it to other products in our table of Ethical Bottled Water.

What does Volvic do?

Volvic water sells a range of natural mineral waters including water-based flavoured drinks. Volvic also released a reusable water bottle in 2020 to support access to safe drinking water in Nigeria. Its history began in 1889 as M. Legay-Chevalier undertook the first water research on the Volvic site. Volvic became a part of the Danone group in 1993.

For which criteria does Volvic perform poorly? 

Poor ratings were given to Volvic’s Public Record Criticisms and Animal Welfare policies. Danone, the brand’s parent business, is at fault for Animal Welfare; according to the company’s website, animal testing is done to ensure the safety of new products, claiming that animal experimentation is still essential on occasion in the field of specialised nutrition. This is a contended statement. Consumers must decide for themselves whether or not to purchase from companies that test on animals, and must be fully informed so that they are empowered to make ethical buying decisions.

Past Criticisms of Volvic’s ethical record

Volvic is unfortunately criticised because of the unethical activity of parent corporation, Danone. According to a Break Free From Plastic report, Danone is one of the world’s top companies responsible for huge amounts of plastic pollution.

Talking Trash also issued a study criticising Danone for deceiving the public about its commitment to waste reduction, which you can read about here.

In what areas does Volvic score well for its ethics?
Volvic has not been found to invest in Fossil Fuels, and therefore does not financially benefit from this destructive industry. Its GMO statement and Environmental report all score highly against our rating.

Danone’s 2030 ‘Goals’ page offers a list of targets as well as the efforts the company has taken to achieve that goal.