Bottled Canadian air has become popular in smog-heavy China, and it's now hitting the market in India.
How much should a breath of fresh air cost?
Most people would likely respond to that question with an obvious answer: Nothing! Most people, though, are not Moses Lam, who almost inadvertently discovered people will pay for the life-sustaining mixture of gases that hangs around on Earth. Well, to be more specific, he discovered people will pay for Canadian air.
He cans and generally sells it for $32 per 8-liter can - other sizes are available - through his Alberta-based online start-up Vitality Air, which he started last March. In a telephone interview with The Washington Post, Lam said most of his customers reside in China, but this month he recently began focusing on the Indian and Korean markets as well. Though Lam wouldn't release sales numbers, in December CNN reported that the company's first batch of 500 canisters sold out within two weeks.
The company's director of China operations Harrison Wang told CNN, "Now we're taking lots of pre-orders for our upcoming shipment. We're getting close to the 1,000 mark."
"People are starting to realize that air isn't getting cleaner," Lam said, referring to China's ongoing issues with pollution. "It's almost like real estate - it's always running out."
And, according to the World Health Organization's Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database, which was updated Thursday, most of that real estate is polluted. The WHO reported, "more than 80 percent of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) limits."
Cue . . . canned air?
No, this is not a joke, and yes, we're sure. We here can confirm, because we purchased a canister and tested it. In the video with this post, we all -- including our resident Canadian Yanan Wang -- try it out. Our verdict? Check out the video, directed, edited and produced by our own Jenny Starrs, to find out.
Lam, a mortgage banker for TD Canada Trust, told The Post it began as a gag. He was stressed from his banking job and sought a fun release.
"We wanted to do something fun," he said, then paused before adding, "And something that would help people as well."
That something? Putting a Ziploc bag of air on eBay to see if anyone would buy it.
"It was for sure a gag," Lam said. "We were like, 'who would buy this thing?'"
After two long months, someone in the United States did. That first bag went for 99 cents, but it struck Lam as crazy enough to try again. Boy is he glad he did. That second one did much better, selling for $168.
"Literally a bag of air sold on eBay for $168," Lam said, still sounding somewhat incredulous. At that point, good sense dictated selling it. Just take a deep breath, right now, then imagine if you could pad your wallet with that.
The enterprise came with inherent issues though: shipping a large Ziploc bag of air and ensuring it didn't break along the way wasn't cheap. And, as Lam put it, "if the bag of air got crushed, the person would just have nothing."
Now, he sees it as a high-end lifestyle product, especially for people who live in areas suffering from high levels of pollution. He imagines the same users who purchase bottled water to have a healthier hydration experience buying his company's canisters of bottled air.
"We want them to use it like a lifestyle product. Like, they have a bottle of water in one hand, they have a can of air in the other."
And, yes, he's heard from the folks who consider the whole enterprise of selling the very thing that surrounds all of us to be a Kafka-esque act of absurdity, a swindling of obscene proportions, even a means to sneak unseeing gasses into our unwilling systems - he heartily chuckled when asked about it.
"We've had people say, 'why would you buy air?' We've had people say, 'how do we know you didn't fart in the bottle?' Those are all great comments," he said. "In Canada, we're very fortunate to be living in such a country that has such clean and pristine air . . . my response would be, why do you want your water to come from France's Alps or Fiji? Why are you paying 6 bucks for water from Fiji? It's the exact same thing - people can drink water out of the tap, and they can breathe air in India or China."
The bottle is certainly labeled as a high-end product like a craft beer or wine, citing the bottling date and location. (How it's bottled remains a trade secret.)
The 8-liter canister we purchased and tested in the video contained around 160 one-second "shots" of air that was bottled on Feb. 19, 2016, in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
If nothing else, Lam said it sparks the conversation around pollution.
"The thing with breathing is that it's so natural," he said. "People don't think about it. But I think our product brings awareness to how unhealthy our air is . . . at the end of the day, if you're exercising in polluted air, then it's hazardous to your health."
Does bottled air actually have any health benefits? It seems unlikely. Even the bottle clearly states that "In no way is this product meant for curing, treating, or preventing any disease or disorders."
But that hasn't stopped it from selling.
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Most people would likely respond to that question with an obvious answer: Nothing! Most people, though, are not Moses Lam, who almost inadvertently discovered people will pay for the life-sustaining mixture of gases that hangs around on Earth. Well, to be more specific, he discovered people will pay for Canadian air.
He cans and generally sells it for $32 per 8-liter can - other sizes are available - through his Alberta-based online start-up Vitality Air, which he started last March. In a telephone interview with The Washington Post, Lam said most of his customers reside in China, but this month he recently began focusing on the Indian and Korean markets as well. Though Lam wouldn't release sales numbers, in December CNN reported that the company's first batch of 500 canisters sold out within two weeks.
The company's director of China operations Harrison Wang told CNN, "Now we're taking lots of pre-orders for our upcoming shipment. We're getting close to the 1,000 mark."
"People are starting to realize that air isn't getting cleaner," Lam said, referring to China's ongoing issues with pollution. "It's almost like real estate - it's always running out."
And, according to the World Health Organization's Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database, which was updated Thursday, most of that real estate is polluted. The WHO reported, "more than 80 percent of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) limits."
Cue . . . canned air?
No, this is not a joke, and yes, we're sure. We here can confirm, because we purchased a canister and tested it. In the video with this post, we all -- including our resident Canadian Yanan Wang -- try it out. Our verdict? Check out the video, directed, edited and produced by our own Jenny Starrs, to find out.
Lam, a mortgage banker for TD Canada Trust, told The Post it began as a gag. He was stressed from his banking job and sought a fun release.
"We wanted to do something fun," he said, then paused before adding, "And something that would help people as well."
That something? Putting a Ziploc bag of air on eBay to see if anyone would buy it.
"It was for sure a gag," Lam said. "We were like, 'who would buy this thing?'"
After two long months, someone in the United States did. That first bag went for 99 cents, but it struck Lam as crazy enough to try again. Boy is he glad he did. That second one did much better, selling for $168.
"Literally a bag of air sold on eBay for $168," Lam said, still sounding somewhat incredulous. At that point, good sense dictated selling it. Just take a deep breath, right now, then imagine if you could pad your wallet with that.
The enterprise came with inherent issues though: shipping a large Ziploc bag of air and ensuring it didn't break along the way wasn't cheap. And, as Lam put it, "if the bag of air got crushed, the person would just have nothing."
Now, he sees it as a high-end lifestyle product, especially for people who live in areas suffering from high levels of pollution. He imagines the same users who purchase bottled water to have a healthier hydration experience buying his company's canisters of bottled air.
"We want them to use it like a lifestyle product. Like, they have a bottle of water in one hand, they have a can of air in the other."
And, yes, he's heard from the folks who consider the whole enterprise of selling the very thing that surrounds all of us to be a Kafka-esque act of absurdity, a swindling of obscene proportions, even a means to sneak unseeing gasses into our unwilling systems - he heartily chuckled when asked about it.
"We've had people say, 'why would you buy air?' We've had people say, 'how do we know you didn't fart in the bottle?' Those are all great comments," he said. "In Canada, we're very fortunate to be living in such a country that has such clean and pristine air . . . my response would be, why do you want your water to come from France's Alps or Fiji? Why are you paying 6 bucks for water from Fiji? It's the exact same thing - people can drink water out of the tap, and they can breathe air in India or China."
The bottle is certainly labeled as a high-end product like a craft beer or wine, citing the bottling date and location. (How it's bottled remains a trade secret.)
The 8-liter canister we purchased and tested in the video contained around 160 one-second "shots" of air that was bottled on Feb. 19, 2016, in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
If nothing else, Lam said it sparks the conversation around pollution.
"The thing with breathing is that it's so natural," he said. "People don't think about it. But I think our product brings awareness to how unhealthy our air is . . . at the end of the day, if you're exercising in polluted air, then it's hazardous to your health."
Does bottled air actually have any health benefits? It seems unlikely. Even the bottle clearly states that "In no way is this product meant for curing, treating, or preventing any disease or disorders."
But that hasn't stopped it from selling.
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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