A Qingdao mineral water company’s recent announcement that it will produce another million bottles of water and extend sales beyond Qingdao to help find missing children has triggered an online debate, after no useful information about missing children was obtained since the “milk-carton kid” style project was launched last October.

The “Baby Come Home” project is a collaboration between Qingdao Aolian Trade Co. Ltd. and China’s largest website focusing on missing children, baobeihuijia (Baby Come Home).

Photos of six missing children and their related information are attached to the plastic water bottles, with the hope of expanding the search for more chances to find them. Despite the best intentions of the campaign, until now no useful information has been received, arousing question about the methods behind the project.

The biggest question raised by netizens is the above-average price of the water, which costs 5.5 yuan (about 0.8 US dollars) for each 400ml bottle, double the price of other mineral water.

“Since it’s for charity, they should set the price lower to increase sales to better spread the photos of the missing children.” Weibo user @wuhoujujuekafei commented.

The manager of Aolian, surnamed Wang, explained that the water is sourced from a spring on Shandong Province’s Mt. Laoshan, and the bottles are made of high-density materials which can be heated. But he has listened to public concern and responded by saying “many consumers told us the price is a little expensive, so this time we have added a new 520ml category adding photos of four more missing children, which costs 3-3.5 yuan.

“It’s not just about money. I will not give up because of the voice of the outside world. This is just the beginning. We will continue to work hard for the public interest to increase exposure of the missing children.”

Despite concerns over the campaign, many netizens looked to praise the company, saying that the campaign was a good idea.

“No matter what, thumb up for the company for their good will. They are not forcing everyone to buy their products. Actually it’s the high price that gets people’s attention, which is the key for charitable events,” said Weibo user @fandazhou.

In the days before the Internet and mobile alerts in the US, it was common for images of missing children to appear on the sides of milk cartons across the country, with many success stories bringing the missing ones back home.

However, according to The Atlantic, “Milk-carton kids also may have become so ubiquitous that people stopped paying attention to them,” suggesting that the campaign became too widespread.

Which side are you on? How are searches for missing people conducted in your country? Please share your insights with us.