Water-bottle refills at cafés, now with a charitable twist

There are few things more satisfying than seeing a good idea spread, and that’s just what we had occasion to witness recently. Just as TapIt lets New Yorkers refill their water bottles for free at participating cafés, so GiveMeTap does much the same for those in the UK. Beginning in Manchester, GiveMeTap has signed up numerous restaurants and cafés willing to supply free access to clean tap water; said providers can be located via PC or smartphone using GiveMeTap’s mapping service. Where the organisation differs from TapIt, however, is that in order to partake, consumers need to be carrying one of GiveMeTap’s branded aluminium bottles, which are priced at GBP 7. The reason? Taking a global view of the need for water, GiveMeTap uses 70 percent of the profits from those sales to fund independent water projects in regions where they’re most needed. GiveMeTap was founded by a Ghanaian entrepreneur and Manchester University student as a way to help address the global water crisis; in March, it was awarded GBP 1,000 in a special Shell LiveWIRE elevator pitch competition that took place in London. Consumers get free water; café owners get free publicity and footfall; and water-focused help goes to those in need. Hard to imagine a nicer win-win-win! Spotted by: John Crowder