Over one million personal care items have been donated to charity network, In Kind Direct

Hygiene poverty remains a growing issue in the UK, with the number of people experiencing it now at nine million,¹ a number that has tripled over the last year.² Unilever and In Kind Direct are evolving their on-going donations campaign in Tesco by partnering with some of the UK’s biggest personal care and household brands Kimberly-Clark, Essity and Haleon.

The campaign has a commitment to donating essential hygiene products to communities across the UK, launching in 700 Tesco’s last month (August 2023).

Building on Unilever and Tesco’s partnership, the campaign has resulted in over one million products donated to the charity network in the last 12 months.

The inclusion of three new suppliers means an increase in the breadth of products involved. Indeed, household brands including Radox, Sure, Persil and Aquafresh will now feature with products being donated to people that are unable to afford basic hygiene essentials such as toothpaste and toilet paper.

From 23 August to 3 October, all four manufacturers will donate one product to In Kind Direct for every two selected products purchased in-store or online by Tesco shoppers.

In Kind Direct will then distribute the donated products to their network of over 6,000 charitable organisations that are the frontline support for people within their local communities and reach 365,000 people every week.

“We’re really pleased to be welcoming new manufacturers to join our on-going donations campaign with In Kind Direct and Tesco,” said Chris Barron, general manager for personal care UK&I at Unilever. “Working together with our peers means we will be able to reach the next one million donations milestone faster and ensure a much wider variation of essential hygiene products reaches In Kind Direct and their network of charities.”

References

1. In Kind Direct, Hygiene Poverty Briefing, Spring 2023.

2. Hygiene Bank. (2022). Hygiene Poverty 2022