In the densely air-polluted cities of China, a new product in the health and wellbeing market has emerged that’s proving very popular: bottled fresh air.
Air pollution kills 5.5 million people a year worldwide. According to studies by the University of British Columbia air pollution ranks fourth as a global health risk factor. Air pollution is linked to incidences of heart disease, lung cancer, stroke and other illness.
In the areas of Dorset, and other grassy wind-swept farming regions in the UK, fresh air farmers are wielding zip lock bags on long sticks, harvesting air and collecting it in jam jars. These jars are then sold to consumers across the world for 80 British pounds, equivalent to $114 US Dollars, around $160 AUD or $172 New Zealand dollars.
The AETHAER project is one such company where ‘farmers’ collect air from regions they claim carries the scents of the ocean or grassy fields. The founder of the company, 27 year old former events manager Leo De Watts, told the Daily Mail that the air his company collects is “the ‘Louis Vuitton or Gucci’ of fresh-air.”
“Collecting AETHAER takes patience, determination and passion. #AETHAER” Posted on Facebook by Aethaer Friday, 1 January 2016
AETHAER claim their product is “filtered organically by nature as it flows between the leaves of woodland trees, absorbs pristine water as it passes over babbling brooks and forest streams, and is lovingly caressed as it rolls over and between mineral rich rock formations.”
A company in Canada is also taking advantage of their natural resource and selling it onto the Chinese market.
Enhance your vitality. Protect yourself from the smoke. Check out our website: http://t.co/M1Z4LWT4So #yycsmoke pic.twitter.com/37d79yQJIZ
— Vitality Air (@vitalityair) August 26, 2015
Vitality Air has taken their idea a step further and has bottled air from the Rocky Mountains and other pristine alpine areas, complete with a respirator attachment.
Apparently selling bottled or canned air is no new concept.
#retro canned air pics someone sent us. Apparently these were given out by the gas companies in the 60's. #vintage pic.twitter.com/HWhFLS1rXa
— Vitality Air (@vitalityair) December 11, 2015
