Most charitable deeds end at your wallet but online retailer Who Gives a Crap is proving that there’s space for generosity in the most unusual of places. Their boxes of environmentally friendly toilet paper, tissues and paper towels arrive straight to your door with the promise that 50% of profits will be donated towards building toilets and improving sanitation in developing countries, showing that doing good doesn’t have to end while you do your business.
In 2017, the Australian-based company launched its range of products in the UK. With their rolls starting from 13.5p per 100 sheets (all with 3-ply, no less) they offer an affordable alternative to many well-known luxury brands. The decision to use 100% recycled materials means each roll will be as kind to the environment as it is on your behind and could be the next step towards reducing carbon footprints across the country. Yet the benefits don’t end there.
Currently, over 2 billion people across the world don’t have access to a toilet and almost 300,000 children under the age of 5 die each year from diseases related to poor sanitation. Who Gives a Crap is on a mission to target these numbers by donating 50% of their profits to help fund hygiene and sanitation projects. They partner with charities such as WaterAid Australia who directly work with communities in developing countries such as the Liquica district in Timor-Leste, Indonesia. One of the ways WaterAid can help is by introducing simple yet otherwise unavailable technology such as Sato Pans, a simple solution to poor sanitation in the form of toilet pans which create a barrier between the latrine pit and toilet. Their projects make hygiene simple and the dignity they give to members of the community is invaluable.
Success stories like these are only set to increase with Who Gives a Crap recently making their second largest donation ever, taking their total donations to-date to over £1 million. Their mission to make toilets and hygiene accessible to every community should be heard by all. It reminds us that a basic necessity for one person remains a luxury for another. More importantly, it gives us a simple solution to do our part in closing this gap.
