Bethesda-based Honest Tea brought back its “National Honesty Index” this summer to test just how willing people were to abide by the honor code in exchange for a Honest Tea beverage.
From July 16-Aug. 12, the company set up unmanned racks of bottled beverages in 60 places, all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Signage asked those who took beverages to put $1 into a bin for each beverage they took.
Honest Tea collected information on “the number of people who paid or stole,” though the company clearly didn’t report anyone for theft.
The marketing project showed that 94 percent of the beverages taken from the Bethesda set-up were paid for, which tied with four other places for the honor of 32nd most honest.
Nationally, 95 percent of the beverages taken were paid for. Nearby, Washington, D.C. was the most improved city compared to last year’s results, with 96 percent of the beverages paid for (just 80 percent were paid for in 2013).
