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Here are a few of the most popular questions we get asked.

If there is something specific you'd like to know, or have a point of view on any of the FAQs, please email us and we'll endeavour to answer it.



Who is Global Ethics Limited and what’s their relationship with One water?
Global Ethics was the company set up by Duncan Goose when he resigned from his old job in order to concentrate on getting One water launched. 'Global' - because we want to make a global difference - even if it's only one person, one day at a time and 'Ethics' because it's about everything the company stands for.

Where is your water from?
One water comes from a natural spring in Limerick in the West of Ireland. It’s bottled by an Irish-owned family business called Shannon Minerals who are hugely supportive of what we’re trying to do.

Photograph of Duncan Goose

What kind of water is it?
It is pure spring water, taken from deep underground in the West of Ireland.

Exactly how much money goes to charity?
This is a really tough question to answer. When we started out we wanted to say e.g. 10cents from each bottle goes to charity. The reality is that because some retailers sell it at different prices we have to be flexible about the donation. Unfortunately we can't influence the retailer's margins, but some people, e.g. FruitFix in Brighton, are so behind the idea that they give some of their own profits back to us too. Nice huh?

What charity do you support?
All our profits go to funding roundabout powered PlayPump water systems in Africa through a company called PlayPump® International. In our first real year of trading we donated over €89,000, this year it will be over €250,000 - our goal is donations of €3 million a year - directly through the sales of One water.

Diagram of a PlayPump®

What is a PlayPump®?
A PlayPump® is a unique water pumping system. Children play on a roundabout that pumps fresh, clean water from deep underground into storage tanks for use by the entire community. Simple!

How many PlayPumps® have you built?
We are currently building a PlayPump® every 3 days. Our aim is to install one every day and change the lives of hundreds of thousands of African people.

How many lives does each PlayPump® improve?
This depends on the size of the community in which we install the PlayPump®. Some are as small as 1,800, some as large as 8,000. In our figures we use an average of 2,500.

Why have you chosen PlayPumps® rather than other kinds of Pump?
Other kinds of pump (normally called Elephant Pumps or Hand Pumps) are powered by hand or pedal. The hand or pedal pumping required is traditionally done by the women and the children which often interferes with their education. PlayPumps® are powered as a by-product of children's play and even though they are more expensive to install than traditional hand pumps, they are very low maintenance and provide a sustainable source of pure, clean water for entire communities very easily.

Elephant pumps go to a maximum depth of 30m and can therefore can only be used in areas with a high water table. PlayPumps® can reach to 100m which ensures that the purity of the water is really good. The water quality is also tested prior to installation. This also allows them to be used almost everywhere and therefore helps to deliver water to areas with previously inaccessible water sources, the most needy areas. The PlayPump® bore is also sealed which helps to keep out contaminants.

In terms of output the PlayPump® is incredibly efficient and has the ability to store water in a 2,500ltr tank - in some cases we've had to reduce the gearing on the PlayPump® as the children have pumped so much water! People can then just turn on the tap next to the PlayPump® when they need water. PlayPumps® also have only two moving parts and are incredibly low maintenance - the storage tank has four advertising panels and two of these pay for any maintenance that may be necessary. (The other two panels are used for community information messages).

Are you a 'green' company?
We recycle everything we can, we use low energy lightbulbs, avoid wastage, avoid high energy machine usage such as air conditioning etc - basically all the common sense things that every member of the public can do. Probably our most innovative way of reducing carbon emissions is that we allow our team to work from home thereby cutting down carbon emissions produced as a result of travel. We also hold video conferences with our partners which again saves on transport impact.

What are your bottles made of?
We currently use PET plastic bottles and believe that 'bio' bottles may be viable in the future when they don't use genetically modified materials, are produced locally and can be properly recycled. Our recycling system isn't set up to faciliate these bottles and has been investing heavily in the recycling of PET. We are investigating the use of PCR (post consumer recycled) in our bottles.

How much recyled plastic is used in your bottles?
Currently no recycled plastic is used in our bottles. We currently produces 410,000 tonnes of PET, of which 300,000 tonnes is used for bottles. Of the 410,000 only 45,000 tonnes is collected for recycling, and of this 70% is sold to China. The remaining 30% is recycled to make fibres, webbing, sleeping bags etc - the reason for this is that the quality of the recycled material is not suitable for food grade production. There are 30 recycling plants in Europe and 16 in Asia who are capable of producing good quality PCR material, but of these only a few can produce food grade material and it's in such small quantities that it's not viable at the moment. Let alone that you would have to import it again...

There is an organisation setting up called Closed Loop who will be able to reprocess PET to food grade standards. This should be built by the end of next year.

There are no quick wins to this, but people are moving in the right direction, and we work closely with our manufactures to look at the best long term, sustainable, environmental options, rather than a quick fix solution.

How do you transport One water?
We transport our products the same way everyone else does, by trunker (articulated lorry). Haulage companies are steadily reducing the environmental impact by changing to Euro 5 engines, bio fuels, maximum speed limits etc and we wholeheartly encourage this. We neither import, nor export which is one of the reasons that we have avoided using 'bio' bottles are they have to be imported from the USA.

How much money do you (the Directors) make?
Duncan (who does most of the work) quit his Business Development Director's job at a marketing agency to spend time doing this and funds his lifestyle (what he has of one) by fitting in consultancy work around the One water project. The company is run through an extensive network of suppliers and employees many of whom give their time, thoughts and skills at heavily discounted prices and, in some cases, for nothing. This is their contribution to the project and all efforts are gratefully received. Have a look at our Heros page if you would like to find out who these exceptional people are.

How do we know that all your profits will go direct to the charity?
We'd always set out to be morally and legally completely 'above board' in all our dealings, but given that we want to reassure people we doing what we say we do, we have our accountants keeping an eye on things as well as three trustees who make sure we always stay on the straight and narrow.

How can I stock One water?
If you would like to find out more about stocking One water please drop us an email at sales@onewater.org.uk.

Where can I buy One water?
Check out our where to buy page.

Can I help in any way?
You already have by visiting this site and learning a little more about our project. We hope if you've not already bought One that you soon will and tell everyone you know about the project too. To help do this please do voice your support by clicking here.

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