Unilever, boots and the hygiene bank unite to help tackle hygiene poverty

More than 1 in 5 people in the UK are living in poverty¹. That’s 22% of the population, a total of 14.5 million people². For people and families living in poverty, basic hygiene items such as soap, toothpaste, and period products can become unattainable.

With a shared mission of tackling hygiene poverty, Unilever and Boots are once again joining forces with The Hygiene Bank for the second year of their Help Tackle Hygiene Poverty campaign, a collaboration which last year supported more than ½ million³ people with hygiene essentials.

You Buy. We Donate.

Making purchases matter. For every two products of Unilever’s most popular brands, including Dove, TRESemmé, Radox, Lynx, Sure, Shea Moisture and Simple, bought from Boots either in-store or on boots.com between 29 June and 23 August, a third product will be donated on your behalf to The Hygiene Bank.

Hygiene poverty: a physical and mental health epidemic

The Hygiene Bank’s local projects are unanimously reporting an increase in demand, with a waiting list of more than 420 local charities in desperate need of support and donations to meet the increasing demand.

For many, a lack of access to hygiene essentials is a very real consequence of living in poverty. Choosing between heating your home or being able to use basic hygiene items, such as deodorant, is a reality people across the UK are facing every day.

This could mean forgoing washing your hair because you can’t afford shampoo, having to share a toothbrush with a family member or not being able to afford nappies or period products.

When people don’t have access to basic hygiene, it can have a profound effect on the quality of their life. It can be easy to feel unable to participate socially and professionally and have an impact on mental health and wellbeing. Together, Unilever, Boots and The Hygiene Bank are challenging the status-quo, uniting to help tackle hygiene poverty to support those in need with hygiene essentials.

For additional information on the ways in which you can support further, please visit: www.Boots.com/help-tackle-hygiene-poverty 

On the partnership, Chris Barron – VP Beauty & Personal Care for Unilever UK&I comments:

“As the number of people in the UK facing hygiene poverty continues to grow, so does the impact it has on homes and families. Having access to products to stay clean has a serious knock-on effect in people’s lives and can impacting quality of life, mental health and wellbeing.

Following the success of last year’s campaign, we have teamed up with Boots and The Hygiene Bank for a second year to help tackle hygiene poverty. And for our customers, supporting the campaign couldn’t be made easier – when shoppers buy their favourite two hygiene essentials from some of our biggest personal care brands in Boots, we will donate a product to The Hygiene Bank, helping change someone’s life.”

Lucy Reynolds, Director of Communications, CSR and Sustainability at Boots UK says:

“Sadly, there are more people than ever who are relying on additional support from hygiene banks, and so initiatives such as this are really important. We have been working in partnership with The Hygiene Bank since 2020 and are really grateful to Unilever for joining forces with us and running this campaign to help donate even more essential products to those who need them.”

Lizzy Hall, Founder of The Hygiene Bank says:
“Hygiene poverty impacts every stage of life in the UK and yet many are unaware of this hidden crisis. That’s why we’ve partnered with Boots and Unilever to help tackle hygiene poverty by raising awareness and ensuring many of those in need have access to quality personal care products. With the demand for our services increasing every day, we know many of those swept into poverty will benefit greatly from this partnership.”

Boots has supported The Hygiene Bank since 2020, and now has over 400 donation points in its stores where customers can drop off their unopened personal care products and toiletries to be redistributed to local charities, schools and local authorities. In addition to this, Boots also has a “you donate = we donate” commitment, where it will donate a full-sized product for every kilogram donated through its drop off points. To find out where your nearest drop off point is visit boots.com.