Gretha Oost is the inventor of 321 Water – a filtered water bottle that aims to make bottled water a thing of the past by offering its users something practical but beautiful.

The idea came about after Oost read Anita Roddick’s ‘Troubled Water’, which explores the socio-political and environmental issues surrounding water across the globe.

“I researched why people drink bottled water and why we don’t re-use water bottles. Then I combined the features of both products into one,” Oost says.

The result is 321, with its tree-like internal filter structure and slender aesthetic. Not an industrial designer herself, Oost employed the services of Melbourne industrial designers Charlwood Design who she says are “great at getting it right from the start”.

Arriving in Australia from the Netherlands in 2004 with husband Willem Oost soon continued with her passion – designing concepts and working with industrial designers to make them reality. “First I was a bit skeptical as it seemed the Ozzies like to pat themselves on the back a lot about their great design and inventions. As a Dutch person this stung a little,” she says.

“But now I do think that Australia is a very inventive country. Probably for the same reason as the Dutch, being a small population compared to the rest of the world, maybe we feel the need to prove ourselves. But it’s great.”

Oost is now on a mission – to bring the full production of 321 Water to fruition. To do this she is employing the concept of Crowdfunding; going to the public for support through pre-orders.

“We have around a thousand pre-orders and we’re aiming to have the product available by the end of March 2010. But we need everyone’s support to make this happen.”

Visit 321water.com to pre-order or find out more about the product.

321water.com