Oakland, CA (Top40 Charts / Clorox Company) A passionate fan base and strong environmental commitment made Portland-based Fruition the winner of a first-ever contest designed to reward up-and-coming bands with the resources needed to go green on tour.
Fruition won the Brita Bottle Free Bands contest, an effort to encourage environmentally friendly touring created by water-filtration company Brita and environmental non-profit REVERB. Fruition collects a grand prize worth $30,000. The prize includes 2,000 Fruition-branded reusable water bottles for the band to sell as merchandise on its tour as well as consulting from REVERB on a variety of sustainable tactics, including landfill waste reduction, locally sourced catering, neutralizing carbon emissions and connecting fans to local and national environmental issues.
Brita® and REVERB have been partners for several years, aiming to eliminate plastic bottle waste in the music industry. Along the way they have helped well-known bands such as fun. and
Dave Matthews Band cut their bottled water waste while on the road. With the Bottle Free Bands contest, REVERB is helping Brita® extend that rock star treatment to up-and-coming bands too, starting with Portland's own Fruition.
"Music brings people together for good times and we're thrilled to partner with REVERB to sponsor bands like Fruition to reduce their environmental impact while on tour," said
David Kargas, PR manager for Brita. "By educating musicians and their fans about the negative aspects of plastic water bottles and also showing them how easy it is to switch to reusable water bottles, we know we're helping to create change."
REVERB and Brita selected 30 U.S.-based bands for the competition, with the bands vying for votes amongst fans by sharing details of how they would use the grant to reduce the environmental impact of their tour.
"Our fans, friends and family never cease to amaze us - we felt like underdogs coming into this contest. Their constant help in voting and spreading the word has now put us in a really cool position to give back to the environment and our fans alike," said rhythm guitarist and vocalist Kellen Asebroek. "We're super excited to get crackin' on greening our tour and reaching out to our crowds with Brita and REVERB on our team - and to start getting these awesome new Fruition bottles into everyone's hands! Eliminating disposable bottles from our lives feels pretty good."
For upcoming Fruition tour dates, visit www.fruitionband.com/upcoming-shows/. For more information on Brita® and the Bottle Free Bands contest visit www.Brita.com.
