Ethos bottled water touts ethical cause

PURCHASE, N.Y. Pepsi and Starbucks are working together to support the launch of Ethos, a brand of bottled water that donates part of its proceeds to charity.

Prior to the recent launch, Ethos brand water was available only in 7,000 Starbucks locations. But after partnering with Pepsi-Cola North America, Ethos will be shipped to 40,000 convenience stores, drug stores, supermarkets and merchandisers.

A donation of 5 cents from each sale of Ethos is contributed to the Ethos Water Fund, a cause devoted to helping bring clean water to Africa. The goal of the Ethos Water Fund is to raise $10 million by the year 2010.

In January, PepsiCo pledged $8.5 million to sustainable water practices.

A spokesperson from Pepsi said that Ethos will be positioned as premium to PepsiOs Aquafina brand and will compete with Evian, Fiji and Voss brands on retail shelves.