At BLAEK Store we love great products, but the story behind the products is what gets us excited. For us the innovation and the impact a brand can have on people and planet is what the future of retail is all about. If we are going to continue to produce products, then they need to be products with purpose and intention.



Our brand spotlight series is all about sharing the amazing stories behind the products we support at BLAEK Store.

This week I want to introduce you to Project Pargo. Not just another insulated drinkware company, Pargo is on a mission to bring clean drinking water to global communities in desperate need of an improved water source.

It all started in a tiny village on the coast of El Salvador where Pargo founders, Ellie and Dylan ate a meal with locals, and they noticed that no one was drinking water. This wasn’t because they didn’t want it, it was because the local water made them too sick to live and bottled water was too expensive. Cue the birth of Project Pargo.



785 million people live without access to improved clean water services, that is, there is no clean drinkable water available within a 30-minute round-trip within walking distance to these people. Clean water is not just about drinking, it’s about bathing, cooking, and swimming, it’s essential to our everyday life.

A human can only live for 3 days without water, clean water is, quite literally the difference between life and death.

So, what’s the solution?

The Project Pargo team partnered with Waves 4 Water and began introducing the Sawyer water filtration system into these communities with the help of their customers. For every Pargo product sold a portion of each sale is put aside and used to purchase enough water filters for one of their many water giving trips overseas.

The Sawyer filtration system uses foam absorption technology to remove 99.997% of viruses and 99.99999% of bacteria, protozoa (cause diseases) and cysts as well as removing microplastics from 643 litres of water a day. It’s simple to install and easy maintain, the best part is, no electricity is required, just gravity.



Since 2019 the Pargo team have been on more than 10 Clean Water Projects trips, installed over 907 filters across 25 villages to more than 33,185 individuals. They have also implemented a 2,000L rainwater catchment in one community. They did all this during a global pandemic, with the borders well and truly open now Elli and Dylan will be able to reach even more communities significantly impacting the lives of thousands of people, forever.

Project Pargo, what’s their purpose? They’re saving lives.