We all love staying in hotels: the fluffy robes, slippers and plush towels make it easy to relax (and you don’t even have to do the washing).
We also love hotel amenities, especially the miniatures of soap, shampoo and conditioner that we often find come home with us after a laidback sabbatical.
But did you know that leaving these complimentary cleansing products in your room after your stay can actually help someone in need?
Yes, even your half used soap can help.
OK, bare with us…
While it may initially sound gross, a charity called Clean the World has worked out a way to collect your used hotel soap, then process and sanitise it, before turning it into new soap to give to people in need.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean sanitation, and an estimated 525,000 children under the age five die every year from disease caused by poor hygiene.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also says “it is estimated that washing hands with soap and water could reduce diarrheal disease-associated deaths by up to 50 per cent”.
So, this is where your used soap bars come in. Rather than the soap going in the bin and ending up in landfill, your used toiletries are recycled and reused, and, ultimately, saving lives.
Clean The World has now distributed more than 40 million bars of soap to impoverished people in 115 countries.
Hotel giants like Hilton, Disney and the InterContinental Hotels Group have all signed up for the program, which sees the companies donate a small sum per room to the charity, donate soap and toiletries, and demonstrate their corporate social responsibility – plus all the warm and fuzzies that go with it.
If this doesn’t make you want to book into a hotel ASAP, we don’t know what will.
