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Photo: www.kickstarter.com

As Derek Zoolander put it best, “Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.” Soma, a new sustainable and attractive water filter pitcher, makes staying hydrated with clean, safe water easier and more aesthetically pleasing than ever.

Water makes up 60 percent of the human body, we know it’s also the essence of life. Scientists have recently debunked the timeworn rule of eight 8-oz glasses per day, but it’s still important to stay well hydrated to keep the body functioning. With all the gunk that’s lurking in today’s water supply, sipping on filtered water is always a good idea. When the only truly safe options are expensive and environmentally irresponsible bottled water and cheap, poorly designed plastic filters, sometimes finding filtered water seems like more hassle than it’s worth. The inventors of Soma, a sustainable and user-friendly glass filtration system recognized this problem and decided to do something about it.

Why It Matters

If it’s such a hassle, why bother with filtering anyway? Recent studies have shown that old-fashioned U.S. tap water is more treacherous than we previously thought — a 2009 report exposed that 62 million Americans were exposed to drinking water that did not meet federal health guidelines. Water that qualifies as “legal” in this country usually won’t bring on immediate health problems. But, a few years down the road, it might have some nasty side effects. Studies have shown that consuming very low quantities of toxic chemicals for years on end can pose serious health risks like birth defects, cancer, and impotence [1].

Mike Del Ponte and Ido Leffler had some major bones to pick with conventional plastic water filters. They wanted a more sustainable device, unlike Brita products where the replaceable filters must be thrown away after each use. One problem is that many people don’t know when to change the filters (ahem…Greatist team), rendering the pitchers essentially useless. Del Ponte and Leffler also wanted a more attractive, more functional water pitcher. They hated that the top often fell off a Brita when pouring, instantly turning a glass of water into a major cleanup job. The filtration technology also left gnarly-looking black specks in the top half of the pitcher, which combined with the bulky plastic exterior, made for an unattractive device better suited for hiding behind the milk than displaying on the dinner table.

So, Del Ponte and Leffler went to work. They went through dozens of drawings and prototypes, finally ending up with a system composed of a glass carafe and a filter made of vegan silk, coconut shells, and a plastic made from corn. Equally important, Soma offers a subscription service, so fresh filters are delivered every two months to take all guesswork out of the equation. The totally sustainable design is 100 percent organic and completely compostable. They collaborated with top designers and David Beeman, a “water designer” who perfected the filtration systems for companies like Starbucks, Peet’s Coffee, and Keurig. The result? A totally sustainable, streamlined system.

Del Ponte and Leffler are raising funds via Kickstarter to begin producing Soma for the mass market. At the moment they’ve already raised 80 percent of the capital they need to launch production. The Soma pitcher is elegant and sustainable, but will it change the way most people think about water? Probably not, but it would make a great replacement for a clunky Brita pitcher, which is exactly what Del Ponte and Leffler wanted in the first place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjs13lSKahg

Do you drink filtered water? Do you think Soma will change the way people think about filtered water? Tell us in the comments below or tweet the author at @SophBreene.