Photo credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
In addition to their music, TV, and film endeavors, the Smith family continues to add to their efforts to make this world a more aware and sustainable place. While Jada, Willow, and grandmother Adrienne have been working in collaboration on their highly anticipated new Facebook “Red Table Talks,” Will and Jaden have been passionately developing an environmentally conscious spring water line called “Just Water.”
The eco-friendly bottled water line was born out of Jaden’s love for surfing and the ocean. When he noticed the amounts of trash and potentially recyclable debris that was carelessly discarded in the ocean beside him as he surfed, he became irritated enough to express his frustrations to his parents. After learning about floating “islands” of garbage and marine debris that have been trapped in North Pacific Ocean currents, known as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” Jaden sprang into action to make a difference.
Just Water was established in 2015 in collaboration with environmentalist Drew Fitzgerald from MIT. The product is an eco-friendly bottled water alternative that packages its water with plant-based materials, biodegradable paper, and “plastic” derived from sugar cane. The design of the bottles themselves also encourages consumers to refill and reuse them vs. simply throwing them away after one use. Just Water also pays well above the municipal rate in order to source water locally from Glen Falls, NY. The Smiths purposefully refrained from associating their celebrity names with the initial release of the water line. They wanted the mission of the company and quality of the product to speak for itself in creating brand awareness and support from the larger community. Three years later, their new brand being sold on Amazon and at Whole Foods worldwide has done just that!
“I wanted to create an industry for people – to offer jobs for people, to really create an industry for the next generation,” said Jaden Smith. “And, to create something for people to get behind that could really be profitable.”
This month, they will be releasing new flavored waters, including flavors like organic apple cinnamon, organic tangerine, and organic lemon. They are hopeful that the addition of these new flavors will continue to encourage consumption of their product while also raising awareness around the company’s efforts to create a better environment and revolutionize the bottled water and recycling industries.
Ultimately, 19-year-old Smith wants to create a recycling company and is currently working on a recycling documentary. Inspired by billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk, and his work within the electric car industry: “That’s kind of what I want to do. I want to step into this water-bottle industry and revolutionize it in a way, because I’m thinking in a way that no one else is thinking.”