A staple of college dorm rooms, Brita鈥檚 portable pitchers, jugs and water-bottle-style filtration systems claim to contaminants from water, including chlorine, lead and copper.
The company is currently facing a claiming that its advertising has misled consumers and its standard filters do not 鈥渞emove or reduce to below lab detection limits common contaminants from drinking water.鈥� Brita that their highest-end filters remove up to 99% of lead and eliminate most contaminants, while its standard filters reducing 鈥渃hlorine 鈥� mercury, copper, zinc (and) cadmium.鈥�
The lawsuit alleges that by writing on their labels that their filters 鈥淩educe 3X contaminants,鈥� Brita has falsely given consumers the impression that the filter removes 鈥渁rsenic, chromium-6, nitrate and nitrites鈥� and other chemicals, including PFAS, also known as 鈥渇orever chemicals.鈥� It does not mention misleading claims about lead.
According to David Savitz, professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health, PFAS generally result 鈥渇rom (a) water source being contaminated from industrial activities.鈥� These substances can persist in water supplies for an extended period, he explained.聽
In general, water filters work differently depending on the contaminant that they are supposed to remove, making it difficult to test the general effectiveness of each product, Savitz said. 鈥淭he effectiveness [of filters] depends on the chemical of concern, some being much easier to remove than others,鈥� he added.
In a to Nexstar Media, the Clorox Company 鈥� Brita鈥檚 parent company 鈥� said that 鈥淏rita takes the transparency of the water filtration options we offer seriously.鈥�
鈥淥ur products include a standard filtration option that improves taste and odor of tap water and is certified to reduce identified contaminants as communicated,鈥� the statement reads. 鈥淔or those consumers looking for water filters certified to reduce PFOS or PFOA, the Brita Elite pour-through and Brita Hub are both certified to reduce PFOS/PFOA, as well as lead and other identified contaminants.鈥�
鈥淏rita stands firmly behind the performance claims that it makes for its water filtration products,鈥� Rachel Shahvar, a Brita spokesperson, wrote in an email to The Herald.
Shahvar wrote that the filters are 鈥渃ertified by independent experts, using best-in-class test methods to reduce the contaminants listed on (our) labels and product literature.鈥�
James Ewing 鈥�24 recalled using a Brita his junior year due to concerns about water coming out of old pipes in his residential hall.
Like Ewing, Ozzy Wagenseil 鈥�26 uses a Brita filter for clean drinking water. But he said he started to reconsider after learning about the company鈥檚 lawsuit. 鈥淚 really relied on that to get my water,鈥� he told The Herald.
For students on campus, the University鈥檚 hydration stations provide clean drinking water to students in buildings. These stations are regularly maintained by the Department of Facilities Management with water taken from reservoirs sourced from the Scituate Reservoir.
The University鈥檚 Department of Environmental Health and Safety conducts of lead levels in its water, according to the Office of Sustainability鈥檚 . If the levels exceed 15 parts per billion, EHS works alongside Facilities Management and Auxiliary Housing to address the problem immediately.
