For decades, Coca-Cola and Pepsi have been treated as default beverage choices in restaurants, cafés, offices, schools, and retail stores. But that default deserves to be challenged. Businesses that continue to promote and sell these products are not just stocking familiar soft drinks — they are supporting a business model tied to public-health harm, massive plastic waste, and a style of corporate sustainability that critics increasingly view as too little, too late.
At a time when consumers are demanding cleaner ingredients, more responsible sourcing, and less environmental damage, businesses have a real opportunity to do better. Choosing more ethical beverage partners is not only a values decision; it is also a smart brand decision. Stocking brands like Karma Cola, Tractor, Gusto Organic Cola, FatDane Cola, and other mission-driven alternatives signals that a business is paying attention to what customers increasingly care about: ingredients, transparency, and environmental responsibility.
Selling Big Soda Means Selling a Product Category Linked to Major Health Problems
The biggest issue is straightforward: regular soda is one of the most concentrated and normalized sources of added sugar in the modern diet. The CDC states that sugary drinks are leading sources of added sugars in the American diet, and that frequent consumption is associated with weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay, cavities, and gout. The World Health Organization similarly says reducing sugars intake, especially from sugar-sweetened beverages, helps maintain healthy body weight and may reduce the risk of overweight and obesity.
This matters for any business that sells beverages. When a café, deli, hotel, venue, or retailer gives Coke and Pepsi prime shelf space, fountain placement, or menu dominance, it is not making a neutral choice. It is reinforcing consumption of products tied to chronic health problems that communities are already struggling with. Businesses may not manufacture the soda, but they do help normalize it, market it, and move it into daily routines.
To be clear, not every alternative cola is a health drink. Some still contain sugar and should still be consumed in moderation. But there is a meaningful difference between backing giant soda corporations built around mass-market sugary beverages and choosing brands that emphasize organic ingredients, fewer artificial additives, and more transparent sourcing. That distinction matters to consumers who want cleaner-label options and to businesses that claim to care about wellness.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi Are Deeply Tied to the Global Plastic Waste Crisis
The environmental case is just as serious. Break Free From Plastic’s 2023 global brand audit, based on 250 audits across 41 countries, identified Coca-Cola as the world’s top plastic polluter for the sixth consecutive year, with PepsiCo also among the worst polluters globally. Global plastic audits consistently rank Coca-Cola and PepsiCo among the world’s largest polluters. Coca-Cola’s waste appears in more countries than any other brand, while PepsiCo’s total plastic volume has rivaled or exceeded it in recent audits — a clear sign that both companies operate at a scale that drives enormous global waste.
https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/2024/02/07/bffp-movement-unveils-2023-global-brand-audit-results/
That is not a small branding problem. It is evidence of the enormous downstream waste footprint created by the dominant soda model: single-use packaging sold at massive scale, then scattered into landfills, waterways, coastlines, and neighborhoods. When businesses keep centering Coke and Pepsi, they help keep that system in motion.
Even more troubling, both companies have faced criticism for weakening earlier packaging ambitions. Coca-Cola announced in December 2024 that it was evolving its environmental goals, replacing its earlier reusable-packaging emphasis with new targets focused more on recycled material and collection. In 2023, Coca-Cola reported that 14% of its beverage volume was served in reusable packaging and that its goal had been to reach at least 25% by 2030. PepsiCo also revised its packaging commitments; by 2026, its packaging page emphasized recyclable, reusable, or compostable design and recycling investments, while 2025 reporting focused on virgin-plastic reductions and recycled content. Critics argue these shifts move attention away from the core problem: too much single-use packaging in the first place.
The Legal and Public Backlash Is Growing
The criticism is no longer limited to activists. In October 2024, Los Angeles County sued PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, alleging that the companies contributed to plastic pollution and misled the public about the recyclability and environmental impact of their plastic bottles. Reuters and the Associated Press both reported that the companies denied misleading the public and said they were working toward sustainability, but the lawsuit itself shows how serious the scrutiny has become.
https://apnews.com/article/coke-pepsi-los-angeles-lawsuit-plastic-recycling-c326225a08b2a2778afdd27d3db2d628
That matters for businesses deciding what brands to align with. Consumers are increasingly alert to greenwashing, plastic waste, and health contradictions. A company that claims to care about sustainability while still prominently selling Coke and Pepsi may be sending a mixed message. The reputational risk is growing, especially for hospitality brands, wellness-oriented retailers, natural food stores, schools, and mission-driven businesses.
“Everyone Sells Coke and Pepsi” Is No Longer a Good Enough Reason
For years, businesses stocked these brands because they were familiar, easy to source, and considered essential for customer expectations. But consumer expectations are changing. Shoppers increasingly read labels, care about plastic, and respond to stories of origin, ethics, and purpose. Businesses that differentiate their beverage program can build stronger brand identity instead of looking interchangeable with every gas station, chain restaurant, and vending machine line-up in America.
Replacing commodity soda with more thoughtful beverage choices can help a business say something meaningful: we care what we serve, we care how it is made, and we are not going to blindly support corporations whose products and packaging create outsized harm. That is especially powerful for independent retailers, cafés, restaurants, hotels, coworking spaces, and event venues that want their product assortment to reflect their values.
Better Cola Brands Show There Is Another Way
Brands like Karma Cola, Tractor, Gusto Organic Cola, and FatDane Cola offer a different model — one built around cleaner ingredients and a more intentional relationship to sourcing and packaging. Their claims should still be evaluated brand by brand, but compared with the mass-market soda giants, they present a far more values-aligned option for businesses that want to serve beverages with a better story.
Karma Drinks says its sodas use Fairtrade organic cane sugar, certified organic ingredients, 100% natural ingredients, and no plastic bottles. The company also says it is a Certified B Corporation and highlights direct support for growers through its Fairtrade model and the Karma Foundation in Sierra Leone. Those are exactly the kinds of supply-chain and packaging choices many consumers wish were normal in the beverage industry.
https://karmadrinks.co.uk/
Tractor Organic Craft Beverages positions itself as the first and only certified organic and non-GMO full-line beverage solution for food service, and it has built tools like its Organic Impact Tracker to measure the environmental difference between choosing organic and conventional ingredients. Tractor also emphasizes organic agriculture’s avoidance of most synthetic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, along with practices that support soil health, biodiversity, and water conservation.
https://drinktractor.com/methodology/
Gusto Organic Cola says its cola is organic-certified, lower calorie, sweetened with Fairtrade blue agave rather than refined sugar, and made with organic spices, essential oils, African kola nut, and spring water. The company also states that its ingredients come from organic farms that respect the land for future generations and that its Fairtrade agave project supports farmers and workers’ rights.
https://drinkgusto.com/real-organic-cola/
FatDane describes itself as an organic microbrewery in Denmark making soda with real ingredients, honest craftsmanship, and respect for nature. Its cola product page says the drink is organic and made only with natural ingredients, including a spice blend, caramelized sugar, and juice from organic lemons, while avoiding additives such as phosphoric acid.
https://www.fatdane.dk/
None of these brands are perfect, and “natural” should never be treated as a magic word. But they represent a fundamentally different direction: smaller-scale, ingredient-conscious, more transparent, and more intentional about the social and environmental footprint behind the product.
What Businesses Should Do Now
Businesses do not have to solve the entire food system overnight. But they can stop pretending beverage choices are trivial. A business that continues to stock Coke and Pepsi by default is choosing convenience over conscience. A business that starts replacing them — even partially — with more ethical, better-sourced alternatives is making a real statement about health, waste, and accountability.
That shift can begin with simple steps: remove Coca-Cola and Pepsi from premium placement, reduce their shelf share, phase out fountain exclusivity, and actively introduce alternatives with stronger ingredient and sustainability stories. Businesses can highlight organic sourcing, Fairtrade certification, glass packaging, plastic-free packaging where available, and brand missions that support farmers and environmental responsibility.
Conclusion
Coca-Cola and Pepsi became dominant by being everywhere. But being everywhere is not the same as being worthy of support. Public-health evidence continues to link sugary soft drinks to serious chronic health problems. Environmental audits continue to place the largest soda companies among the world’s worst plastic polluters. Legal scrutiny and public backlash are growing. Businesses that claim to care about wellness, sustainability, and ethical sourcing should ask themselves an uncomfortable question: why are we still helping drive sales for companies so deeply associated with these harms?
The better path is clear. Serve beverages that reflect the values consumers increasingly want to support: real ingredients, responsible sourcing, less plastic, and a brand story that does not depend on externalizing the costs onto public health and the planet. Businesses do not need to keep selling the old default. They can choose something better — and they should.