Imagine waking up in the morning and not being able to wash your face or brush your teeth before going to school or work. All because you can’t afford a bar of soap or a tube of toothpaste. A recent study found that since 2022, the cost of living crisis and rising inflation have pushed a further 1.1m people into hygiene poverty – and this is worsening the nation’s mental and physical health. Two thirds of teachers have witnessed bullying, and one in two teachers say children isolate themselves – all because of hygiene issues. The bottom line is that being clean is a human right, and is fundamental to our emotional, physical and mental well-being.
At House of Bread we are determined to be part of the solution to the growing problem of hygiene poverty and so we have teamed up with the wonderful charity, Beauty Banks.
Founded in 2018, Beauty Banks are on a mission to end hygiene poverty. What they do is very simple and very effective – they collect donations from the beauty industry and distribute them to organisations like us, House of Bread, who ensure they are given to those in our community who are in need.
We are very grateful to Beauty Banks who will be sending us a new batch of products, including soap, shaving cream, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, sanitary products and much more, every few months.