Ryan Donahue founded Proud Source Water with the goal of creating jobs in Mackay, Idaho, a mountain town in the Northern Rockies with a population of 514. The spring water there has been revered by locals for generations. There's even a saying in town: "Once you've tasted the water in Mackay, you'll never leave." Ryan decided to build a bottling facility at the base of the spring, but as the project came together, he ran into a problem he couldn't ignore, the packaging.
Bottling the wat
Ryan Donahue founded Proud Source Water with the goal of creating jobs in Mackay, Idaho, a mountain town in the Northern Rockies with a population of 514. The spring water there has been revered by locals for generations. There's even a saying in town: "Once you've tasted the water in Mackay, you'll never leave." Ryan decided to build a bottling facility at the base of the spring, but as the project came together, he ran into a problem he couldn't ignore, the packaging.
Bottling the water in plastic didn't feel right. Ryan wanted to make choices that would hold up for future generations, so he turned to aluminum, which is recycled in every state and can be recycled infinitely without losing material strength. 75% percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today, making it the most sustainable option he could find. Proud Source Water is built around three core commitments: naturally alkaline spring water, infinitely recyclable aluminum packaging, and using business as a force for good. For Ryan, it was about doing right by the town, the water, and the people who would drink it long after he was gone.
