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Press release 15.09.08
Cool carafe will charm customers and collecters
Ten shortlisted designs are unveiled by London On Tap campaign
More Westminster than Waterford, Leicester Square than Lalique, and Dulwich than Dartington, the London On Tap carafe is destined to become a modern design classic to rival the classiest of crystal.
In a few short months, the tables of some of London’s finest eateries and watering holes will be graced by an iconic and sustainable glass carafe, chosen from more than 100 entries to the London On Tap ‘carafe for London’ competition.
Today, the public will have their first taste of what the carafe might look like, as a shortlist of ten designs is unveiled at London’s City Hall by Richard Aylard from Thames Water, and Rosie Boycott, the recently appointed Chair of London Food.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:
“This is a magnificent campaign that will empower customers in bars and restaurants across the capital to ask for tap water rather than feeling compelled to ask for expensive bottled brands. More importantly, drinking tap water will cut the amount of plastic and glass waste that we create and in turn will reduce the size of the capital’s carbon footprint. The designs exhibited today are testament to talented designers that we have in London and I look forward to announcing the winner in December.”
Thames Water sustainability director Richard Aylard, said:
“It’s wonderful that we’ve had such a fantastic response from London’s designers to our challenge. London’s tap water is the best in the world and we should be proud of it. We look forward to seeing it served in one of these beautiful carafes all across London.”
Rosie Boycott, Chair of London Food, said:
“London is lucky to have some of the best quality tap water in the country and it is a far better choice than bottled water, both economically and environmentally. This competition should spearhead London as a sustainability leader by offering tap water first across our hospitality sector.”
There were one hundred and fifteen entries to the competition, to design a one-litre capacity glass carafe that embodied the best qualities of contemporary design and craftsmanship. The designs, which have made it on to the shortlist are not only stylish but have the potential to be made mostly with recycled glass.
All short-listed entries will be made into prototypes and judged on November 13 by key figures from the worlds of design, hospitality and the environment, including celebrity chef Aldo Zilli; Zaha Hadid, architect of the London 2012 Olympic Aquatics Centre and Tony Juniper of Friends of the Earth. The winning design will be announced in December with a £5,000 prize awarded to the winner. The carafe will be mass manufactured from January 2009 with carafes expected to start appearing across London by April.
Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director of the Crafts Council, which organised the design competition for London On Tap, said:
"It was extremely exciting to see all the designs submitted by makers for this unique competition. London is one of the world's creative capitals and the entries really reflected the range of contemporary craft talent. I think the winning carafe will add a pleasurable incentive to ordering tap water in restaurants."
The London On Tap campaign was launched in February, to promote the serving, and consumption of London’s tap water in its thousands of restaurants, bars and hotels. Since then, sales of bottled water in the UK have plummeted with more consumers switching to tap water as the greener choice.
The campaign has garnered support from celebrity chefs, environmental groups, and even the House of Lords, with thousands of restaurants and bars already pledging their support.
Images of the shortlisted designers and their designs can be viewed at http://www.londonontap.org from 10.30am Monday 15 September and can be provided on request.
Notes to Editors:
- For more information about the London On Tap campaign, visit http://www.londonontap.org or contact Amy Dutton at Thames Water Press Office, Tel: 0118 373 8935
- The shortlisted designers are:
Neil Barron
Dan Bramham
Chloe Coulson
Matthew Fiddimore
Jonny Freeman
Ines Sanchez Calatrava
Nina Tolstrup
Adam White
Steve Wooster. - The Competition judges are:
David Owens - CEO, Thames Water
Jenny Jones - London Assembly Member for the Green Party
Aldo Zilli - Restaurateur and Celebrity Chef
Tony Juniper – UK Director, Friends of the Earth
Lynda Relph Knight - Editor, Design Week
Professor Jeni Colbourne - Chief Inspector of Drinking Water, DEFRA
Zaha Hadid - London 2102 Olympic Aquatics Centre architect
Rosy Greenlees - Executive Director, Crafts Council (Chair of Judging Panel)
Andrew Cook - Deputy Chief Executive, WaterAid.
Andrew Neather – Wine Correspondent, Evening Standard - The London On Tap logo is available for use in editorial and broadcast pieces and can be downloaded from http://www.londonontap.org
- Each year Thames Water carries out almost half a million tests of drinking water, complying with 99.98% of stringent national and European standards. London tap water costs less than a tenth of a penny per litre and emits 300 times less CO2 than bottled water alternatives.
- A taste test comparing bottled water brands with tap water was carried out by Decanter magazine in December 2007 and broadcast by the BBC’s Panorama programme on 18 Feb 2008. Thames Water's tap water was rated third out of 24 varieties tested.
- London On Tap is a joint initiative of Thames Water and the Mayor of London, in partnership with the British Glass Manufacturers' Confederation, WaterAid and London Remade and supported by the Crafts Council. The British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation represents the UK's glass industry. WaterAid is the international charity, which enables the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Proceeds from sale of carafes will go to support WaterAid's work in the developing world. London Remade helps London reduce, reuse and recycle its waste by developing markets for recycled materials to be made into new products.
- London On Tap is a joint initiative of Thames Water and the Mayor of London, in partnership with the British Glass Manufacturers' Confederation, WaterAid and London Remade and supported by the Crafts Council. The British Glass Manufacturers’ Confederation represents the UK's glass industry. WaterAid is the international charity, which enables the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. Proceeds from sale of carafes will go to support WaterAid's work in the developing world. London Remade helps London reduce, reuse and recycle its waste by developing markets for recycled materials to be made into new products.Thames Water is the UK's largest water and wastewater company, supplying clean drinking water to 8.5million customers and wastewater services to 13 million customers across London and the Thames Valley. To find out more about Thames Water, visit http://www.thameswater.co.uk
- The quality of Thames Water's tap water is independently monitored by the Drinking Water Inspectorate
All press releases
Boris Johnson and Thames Water unveil London’s water carafe
Ten shortlisted designs are unveiled by London On Tap campaign
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Thames Water and Mayor of London launch new campaign to promote tap water in London's restaurants, cafes and pubs.
Celebrity chef Aldo Zilli has lent his support for the London On Tap campaign, banning the sale of bottled water in his restaurants.
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