Company Name

Swansea Metropolitan University:

Echo - Sustainable Personal Hydration

Description of company/ product

(less than 100 words)

Echo is a new innovation in personal hydration. Designed in 2007, Echo is a brand that aims to reduce the carbon footprint of individuals who enjoy bottled water as part of their diet.

This innovation is designed to trigger a shift in consumer spending in the bottled water market and promote the idea of being carbon neutral. Echo has reduced carbon emissions when compared to market leaders such as Evian, enabling a sustainable solution to a historically environmentally harmful product. This Co2 reduction is achieved by a number of decisions in materials, supply system and product design.

Key Selling points

•-          Provides an environmentally friendly way to enjoy an environmentally harmful practice of drinking bottled water.

•-          Embraces Polylactic Acid as a new push in polymer technology that provides bio-degradable "plastic".

•-          Promotes the idea of reuse rather than disposal.

•-          Financial incentives to consumers with additional benefits of free refills when the product is bought.

Looking for:

Collaboration, partnerships and joint ventures to enable the advancement of this product as a consumer item or a design statement to existing bottled water producers showing evidence of required change.

Technological support to supply ultra filtered mains fed water to refill points to make the brand and idea function.

Advice on feasibility, costing and further R&D.

Patent Status:

Patent protected by a group patent filed by Swansea Metropolitan University.

Potential Markets/ outlets

Bottles just like any other brand of bottled water - cafes, shops, vending machines etc.

Refill points to be located in cafes or shops for over the counter refills and control the limited number of free refills.

Future location of refill machines to be on the high street in the form of personal points with RFID to control the refill count.