I wrote this brochure to spread awareness about

1. HELP CARRY
HOPE

2. Water = Life
There is no substitute
The human body is more than 65% water. To keep body and soul together, we each
need half a gallon (2 L) a day. Without it, we can’t survive a week.
But most of the Earth’s water is unusable. Not everyone is lucky enough to have
drinkable water nearby.
A global concern, a local need
In disaster areas and regions afflicted by drought, millions of people struggle to get
the water they need to live. To make a difference, we need to make sure their water is:
Accessible
One third of people worldwide are water-distressed.
Access to water by a rising population continues to be a global issue.
Clean
Every 15 seconds, a child dies from a water-borne illness.
Access to clean water and sanitation continues to threaten the health of
most of the world’s poorest population.
Transportable
UNICEF estimates that women and children who are forced to carry water
endure 200 million hours of hard labor each day.
Even when access to clean water is possible, most water must be
transported. Past solutions have been laboriously inefficient, unsafe,
and unhealthy.
A DROP OF
INSPIRATION
Front Cover Photographer Tony Cece tonycece.com

3. Water Is A Hard Burden To Bear
Consider a revealing 2010 health study* of water-carrying practices in rural Limpopo
Province, South Africa. In the six villages studied, most of the water carrying was
done by women and children balancing sloshing containers carefully on their heads.
The mean container weight was more than 43 pounds (19.5 kg), and the mean
distance traveled with a full container was about 368 yards (337 m).
Not surprisingly, 69% of all the water carriers experienced spinal (neck or back) pain.
People who carried head loads were especially affected.
The study also noted that others who carry similar burdens have been shown to
sustain catastrophic injuries, including:
- Spinal fracture
- Spinal dislocation
- Early-onset cervical spine degeneration
- Death
In the end, the health study recommends “where [water carrying] must
continue, identifying and reducing risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders
and physical injury.”
* Domestic water carrying and its implications for health: a review and mixed methods pilot
study in Limpopo Province, South Africa, Geere et al. Environmental Health 2010, 9:52.
http://www.ehjournal.net/content/9/1/52
“The lack of access to safe water remains
the third most significant risk factor for
poor health in developing countries.”
For many, access to water comes at a steep physical price.
Photographer Tony Cece tonycece.com

4. A New Wave
* Performance Assessment of Greif WaterWearTM
Backpacks, Greif Packaging LLC, April 10, 2012.
The Pack is superior to other water-carrying methods:
- It provides an easy, safe, and comfortable form of transportation
- It lessens the potential for neck and spine injuries
- With education and proper use, it greatly reduces contamination during
source-to-home transportation
- It allows for clean, effective storage at home
- It creates a platform for in-country micro business opportunities
Battelle, the world’s largest not-for-profit research institution, conducted a
third-party, independent study* of the Pack. It evaluated 11 key aspects of the
Pack’s functionality. And the Pack met or exceeded all of those measures.
The study confirmed that the combination of chlorine and solar water disinfection
(SODIS) to disinfect microbiologically contaminated drinking water and
turbid river water, while stored in the specially designed liner, effectively killed
bacteria and viruses.
The bag can be used by disaster relief and refugee crisis organizations as a
disaster relief kit. It can significantly reduce contamination with education and
proper usage.
The continued water crisis has inspired us to create a solution:
a safe, effective way for individuals to transport water.
Manufactured by Greif, it’s called the WaterWear™ Pack.
Anatomy of a solution
The WaterWear™ Pack is an inexpensive, flexible polyethylene backpack with a
puncture-resistant outer shell and a removable plastic liner. It holds about 5.25
gallons (20 L) of water.
Shoulder the load
71
The Pack is
seven times
more compact
than a
traditional
jerry can
p
Adjustable Straps
Protective Cover
with Reflective Tape
Puncture Resistant
Fabric
Hand Straps
Drain Spout
Double Liner
Chlorine Tablet
Pouch

5. For many in water-distressed countries,
physical survival is a priority.
WaterWear™ Packs carry a lot more
than water. They also bring new opportunity.
The old paradigm of giving was seen as the
path to assistance. The new paradigm
suggests using economic empowerment as
a long term, viable solution.
Micro Business Opportunities:
BackthePack is the collaboration between
the corporate world and some of the world’s most
dynamic non-government organizations (NGOs).
Each household will receive two
WaterWear™ Packs: one to transport
and one to store.
The Next Step:
Improving Life
- In-country production
- Repair and maintain quality of pack
- Recycle and provide additional liners
- Jerry can trade-in program
- Local artist design
- Artisan exchange program
Photographer Tony Cece tonycece.com

6. We’re almost there, but we need your help.
Take us the last mile.
BackthePack.
The power of partnership
For those involved with relief efforts in developing countries, you know
each success is a group effort. Now, we need you to connect the link and
put WaterWearTM
Pack in the hands of those who desperately need them.
Greif, the creator of the WaterWear™ Pack,
is a global leader in industrial packaging.
Greif is deeply committed to achieving
long-term sustainability and addressing
global challenges. It has the technology
and experience to develop innovative,
scalable, and sustainable products that
enable developing nations to solve the
problem of transporting and storing water.
The WaterWear™ Pack is a shining example
of this.
By working with globally recognized
organizations, Grief can bring its expertise
and products where they’re needed most.
It’s about what’s inside
Making innovation work
Impact Economics was established with
the goal of scaling innovative products
and business models that will elevate
the living conditions of vulnerable people
around the world.
www.backthepack.comLEARN MORE
Impact Economics

7. www.backthepack.com
@backthemovement
1-614-794-2732
274 Marconi Blvd Suite 400
Columbus, Ohio 43215