Earth Angels: The Activist

In asking corporations to become more responsible, Kelle Louaillier is helping put a stopper in America's love affair with plastic bottles.

(Photo by Tanit Sakakini)

When Kelle Louaillier went to work for Infact at age 24, she had no idea it was possible to make a career and earn a living as an activist, and no idea that she'd stay with the same organization for nearly two decades. In her years with the nonprofit - it is now called Corporate Accountability International (CAI); she became its executive director in May - 43-year-old Louaillier has worked to stop testing of nuclear weapons and to hold oil companies accountable for their environmental pollution.

"Think Outside the Bottle" is the group's largest campaign right now. CAI, based in Boston and Seattle, believes that corporations like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and Nestle have turned clean water from a right into a luxury and that, as a result, governments are neglecting public water resources. To reduce the public's consumption of bottled water, CAI has tried to make Americans aware of one simple fact: A lot of pricey bottled water comes from the same places as the free stuff. Louaillier, who divides her time between Jamaica Plain and Seattle, says her hardest job is fighting the "doubt and scoff and incredible marketing" of corporations. Yet, in July, CAI pressured Pepsi to put the phrase "public water source" on its Aquafina-brand labels. This year, thanks to the campaign, San Francisco has cut bottled water from city budgets. CAI can't say how many consumers have done the same, but spreading the word that those $1.99 plastic bottles contain tap water that's been shipped across the country can't hurt the cause in grocery aisles.

Michael Siegel, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, points out the strength of Louaillier's group: "They are truly an organization that has mastered the techniques of using grass-roots public advocates to put pressure on corporations to improve the environment and public health."