News & Updates

Safeguard donates 118m handwashes to promote basic hand hygiene

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.

“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.”

Food and water are among the most basic human needs. Yet, a staggering 13.5 million US 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.”