Poland Spring

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Poland Spring is a brand of bottled water manufactured by a subsidiary of Nestlé, but originally founded in 1845. Contrary to popular belief, Poland Spring water does not all come from the town of Poland, Maine. Poland Spring water is derived from multiple sources in the state of Maine, including Poland Spring, Clear Spring in Hollis, Evergreen Spring, Spruce Spring and Garden Spring. In addition, Poland Spring ships in a lot of its water from other towns in Maine.

Water sales

In 1901 Maine's Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics listed eighty-one existing mineral springs. Twenty-three were used for commercial bottling, with total sales of $400,000. $200,000 of these sales were by Poland Spring.

Today Poland Spring sells the majority of its water in portable 8, 20 and 24 oz bottles; 500 mL bottles, but also carries larger 5 gallon bottles usable in office or in home water dispensers. Smaller 1 gallon bottles are also available for sale in most supermarkets, and are available for home delivery in the Northeast United States. Other less popular varieties of Poland Spring include sparkling, lemon, lime, and distilled. All Poland Spring products are sold in plastic bottles, for both safety and for economical reasons.

In the Summer of 2005, Poland Spring changed the color of its 1 gallon bottle cap from dark green to clear, and removed the safety seal in favor of a stronger twist off mechanism. The reason for the color change was to reduce the risk of taste complaints while saving money on materials.

Controversy

Several towns in Maine have objected to the business practices of Poland Spring and its parent company Nestlé. In some towns, such as Fryeburg, Maine, Poland Spring actually buys the water from another company, the Fryeburg Water Co. and ships it to the Poland Spring bottling plant in Poland Spring. However, Fryeburg Water Co. also sells water to the town of Fryeburg.

Recently, the town of Fryeburg began to question the amount of water the company was selling to Poland Spring. The group H₂O for ME wants to create a tax on water drawn for commercial purposes, however, Poland Spring said the tax would force the company into bankruptcy. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

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