Safeguard Donates 118 Million Handwashes to Celebrate Global Handwashing Day

The hand soap and sanitizer brand partners with City Harvest and Soapy Care to make superior germ protection and education more accessible

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This Global Handwashing Day (October 15), Safeguard has donated 118 million handwashes to City Harvest and other organizations across the United States to help provide basic hand hygiene to more people.

Food and water are among the most basic human needs. Yet, a staggering 13.5 million U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2021¹ and according to the United Nations, three billion people lack access to basic hand hygiene facilities. By donating handwashing products to City Harvest and other organizations, Safeguard hopes to extend its reach and bring hand hygiene to more individuals in need.

This Global Handwashing Day, we’re also teaming up with Soapy to make handwashing – and information on how to wash effectively – more accessible in schools, health care facilities, hospitality services, restaurants and other industries. Though regular handwashing is well-established as the best line of defense to remove germs, avoid sickness, and prevent the spread of germs to others, simple access to soap and water is not available in many settings. Available in six great scents, Safeguard washes 99.9% of bacteria.*

Soapy’s Clean Machine personal handwashing station offers a convenient solution with the latest technology and Safeguard soap to provide superior germ protection rooted in science. This unique handwashing technology not only ensures the perfect wash, timing and temperature, but is also eco-friendly using 95% less water, 80% less energy and preventing 90% soap waste. With on-demand water temperatures, AI-powered games and data to improve handwashing efficacy, and features to minimize energy and water usage, Soapy keeps handwashing fun, environmentally-friendly and effective with the Safeguard germ-fighting soap brand consumers know and trust.

“Safeguard has been leading the way to drive hand hygiene across America for nearly 60 years,” said Freddy Bharucha, Senior Vice President, North America & Global Personal Care, Procter & Gamble. “Our latest work with City Harvest and Soapy shows how we can put proper handwashing within the reach of more Americans – whether by donating products to folks in need or creating solutions to bring superior handwashing outside of the home and into hospitals, schools and more.”

“City Harvest has been helping feed New Yorkers in need for the past 40 years,” said Rebecca Fontes, Director of Business Partnerships for City Harvest. “This generous donation will help us continue to support New York families with the essentials they need to thrive.”

“Diseases linked to inadequate hygiene could be reduced by 50% with simple hand hygiene access and consistent usage,” said Max Simonovsky, Founder & CEO, Soapy. “We are incredibly excited about this collaboration with Safeguard and are thrilled to offer technology that brings handwashing out of the bathroom and into the future.”

For more information about Safeguard and Soapy’s hand hygiene mission and Global Handwashing Day, visit: https://safeguardna.com/en-us/social-impact/global-handwashing-day.

About City Harvest

City Harvest is New York City’s largest food rescue organization, helping to feed the millions of New Yorkers who are struggling to make ends meet. We will rescue 75 million pounds of food this year and deliver it, free of charge, to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and other community partners across the five boroughs. City Harvest works alongside our community partners to boost community capacity, expand nutrition education, and strengthen local food systems. For 40 years, we have worked to feed our city, one day, one meal, and one New Yorker at a time. For more information, visit https://www.cityharvest.org/.

About Soapy

Soapy is on a mission to make the world better – one handwash at a time. Founded in 2018, Soapy is a dynamic, high-tech company bringing hand washing out of the bathroom and into the future! Approved and registered in 30 countries, Soapy’s Clean Machine is proven to prevent infection and protect health for healthcare, education food service and consumer-facing industries. SOAPY spans the globe and has been honored with awards from leading technology, sustainability and United Nations authorities. For more information, visit https://soapy.care/.

About Safeguard

Since it was launched in the U.S. in 1963, Safeguard has been committed to protecting families by washing away germs and bacteria, as well as educating children on proper hygiene habits. Safeguard’s creative approach to teaching kids handwashing has been implemented in 15 countries reaching nearly 100 million children over the past 10 years. Outside the U.S., the brand runs a widely watched cartoon series, Commander Safeguard, which reinforces good handwashing behavior and averages three million YouTube viewers on some episodes. Safeguard is available in liquid hand soap, bar soap and hand sanitizer.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.

*versus ordinary soap

¹ https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/#:~:text=Food%2Dinsecure%20households%20include%20those,at%20some%20time%20during%202021.