Greenwashing the Occupation
SodaStream claims to be an environmentally friendly company and that its product helps consumers reduce their CO2 footprint every time they make soda or sparkling water at home instead of buying it from the store.
The reality though is that by having its main factory in an illegal settlement in the West Bank, SodaStream is complicit in the environmental destruction Israel's military occupation has brought to Palestine. This includes the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of olive trees, the depletion of water sources, and the pollution of Palestinian land.
In addition the illegal settlement home to SodaStream, which it supports directly via municipal taxes, “manages” the infamous Abu Dis landfill, where more than 1,100 tons of waste from Jerusalem and Israeli settlements are dumped every day. The Israeli Ministry of Environment Protection has stated that the landfill is “the most polluting waste disposal site in the country.” A Palestinian university research team has documented soil and water contamination as well as toxic gases in the air.
SodaStream's support for environmental causes is an example of greenwashing as it attempts to clean up its image as a company complicit in Israel's violations of Palestinian rights through PR campaigns.
Learn more below about the environmental impact of Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands.
Israeli Laundry
How Israel tries to clean up its image as a violator of Palestinian human rights through misleading LGBT, environmental and Jewish identity PR campaigns. A project of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Troubled Waters: Water Injustice in Palestine
March 21st, 2014
March 21st, 2014
Fact Sheet from Grassroots International.
Water Crisis
February 25th, 2014
February 25th, 2014
Statistics from B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories.
800,000 Olive Trees Uprooted, 33 Central Parks
October 1st, 2013
October 1st, 2013
Infographic from Visualizing Palestine.
Environmental Nakba: Environmental Injustice and Violations of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
September 1st, 2013
September 1st, 2013
A report of the Friends of the Earth International observer mission to the West Bank.
Gaza Water Confined & Contaminated
August 1st, 2012
August 1st, 2012
Infographic from Visualizing Palestine.
The Environmental Impact of Israeli Settlements on the Occupied
Palestinian Territories
by Sawsan Ramahi, Middle East Monitor
March 1st, 2012
by Sawsan Ramahi, Middle East Monitor
March 1st, 2012
This report focuses on examples such as hazardous solid waste pollution by settlements and the impact of settlements on Palestinian groundwater supplies.
Swedish chain kicks out drink machines made in Israeli settlements
August 29th, 2011
August 29th, 2011
Information about SodaStream's role in greenwashing the occupation including how the settlement the company financially supports is responsible for “managing” the infamous Abu Dis landfill.
Israel rations Palestinians to trickle of water
October 27th, 2009
October 27th, 2009
Report from Amnesty International.