A new campaign placed water refill stations in Manhattan, swapped 2,000 disposable bottles for reusables, and gave the city a moment to rethink its habits.
Rothy’s give HOPE to users of refillable water bottles
Times Square doesn’t usually slow down. But on July 29, recycled footwear brand Rothy’s and HOPE Hydration teamed up to create a moment of pause right in the middle of it.
Called The Plastic Pause, the activation turned Duffy Square, the northern triangle of Times Square, into a single-use-free zone for the day. A branded HOPE Hydration refill station gave out free clean water while nearby street teams collected discarded bottles and handed out 2,000 reusable ones, donated by Ocean Bottle and others.
Another refill station launched outside Rothy’s Fifth Avenue flagship, where it will remain through August 3. Both efforts are part of a longer-term plan to expand public refill access across New York City through 2026.
The campaign wasn’t just experiential. It included a Times Square billboard takeover that pushed the message to millions. In one of the busiest out-of-home advertising corridors on the planet, the visual cue worked as a signal to stop, rethink, and refill. On the ground, Davis Burleson host of the interview series What’s Poppin’? with Davis! interviewed passersby and helped distribute bottles.
According to Rothy’s CMO Jamie Gersch, the activation reflects an approach that blends utility with visibility. “We’ve been fighting single-use plastic since day one,” she said. “And with The Plastic Pause, we brought that message to one of the most visible stages in the world.”
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Gersch says the effort was designed to lower the barrier to better habits. “By offering free, drinkable water in the heart of New York City, we’re making it possible for people to break the habit of single-use plastic.”
The refill station rollouts are just one part of a longer plan between HOPE Hydration and Rothy’s, which say they’re committed to expanding access across the city through 2026.
“This moment built on years of innovation and advocacy at Rothy’s,” Gersch said. “Together with HOPE Hydration, we’re continuing to build real solutions that turn purpose into progress. We’re not just imagining what’s possible. We’re making it happen. And we’re just getting started.”
Access matters. If clean, drinkable water can be offered for free in one of the busiest – and most ad-saturated – spaces in the world, there’s no reason it can’t become part of everyday life elsewhere.