Every year hotels around the world send millions of bars of partially used or discarded soap into overflowing landfill. Five years ago, witnessing the waste in the hospitality industry, CEO and Founder of the charity Soap Aid, Mike Matulick had a vision to change the way hotels treated waste soap and save children’s lives through improved hygiene.
According to UNICEF 1.4 million children under the age of five die each year due to the hygiene- related diseases diarrhoea and pneumonia – two illnesses that are entirely preventable. Research shows handwashing with soap is a simple, effective behaviour that can save lives.
Soap Aid’s scalable and sustainable ‘Hotel to Hands’ program collects and reprocesses discarded hotel soap and produces fresh, hygienic bars of soap for distribution to communities in need around the world.
“Working with community impact partners we’ve sent more than 830,000 bars of recycled soap to targeted communities in Western Australia, Fiji, Cambodia, Somalia, Uganda, Zambia, Philippines, PNG, Vanuatu, India and Indonesia,” says Mike.
“Soap Aid has been an indispensable partner in restoring health and dignity in Cambodian schools, health clinics, and villages. They have been instrumental in creating jobs for poor women to sell recycled soap to support their families. To date, 41 women have been hired to sell Soap Aid soap, and over 42,943 students in 151 schools have been given soap often for the very first time.”
-Samir Lakhani, Founder at Eco-Soap Bank
However, every day the demand for our soap from communities is increasing and this is a critical time for Soap Aid to continue its lifesaving work. There are children and communities needlessly suffering from hygiene-related illnesses throughout the world.
How can you help?
Guests and the wider community are looking for leadership and creative solutions to hotel waste. We are encouraging hotels all around Australia to become Soap Aid Hotel Champions and help save lives. To join Soap Aid’s ‘Hotel to Hands’ Program, an annual subscription fee of $7.50* (ex GST) per room, provides hotels with a complete solution:
- National logistics coverage (our freight providers will collect soap from any hotel location in Australia)
- Simple online registration and payment process
- 12 soap collections per year
- Training & marketing collateral for staff & guests
- Importantly the new model will help us reach more communities and transform the lives of children in need. *May be tax deductible
By becoming a Soap Aid Hotel Champion, you will part of the solution to creating long-lasting health and environmental benefits:
- Redirecting millions of bars of waste soap from disastrous landfills
- Reducing extraction and use of raw materials
- Reducing carbon emissions by 40% when compared to using virgin soaps
- Demonstrating to your guests your commitment to corporate social responsibility and environmentally responsible business practices
Soap Aid is a game-changer with a global vision to transform the way the industry treats hotel waste soap. Will you be our next Hotel Champion? Register online at soapaid.org today.
