All That Soap

I haven't purchased a bar of soap...in well over a decade.

Every day of my life, I lather up with a bar of soap from a hotel from somewhere in this land. Even when I'm home, it's hotel soap...everyday.

It's not always easy. I have to remember to pack a baggie on each trip in order to bring my used soap home. But, I do it because imagining the utter waste of all that soap from every hotel room every day makes me crazy. The estimate is 2.6 million bars of soap are discarded by hotels every single day.

2.6 million bars. Think about that.

I'd start buying soap, however, if I knew that the hotels in which I stay were part of the Global Soap Project...an organization that collects partially-used and discarded soap from hotels, recycles it into millions of new bars and distributes the new soap through global health programs to people who lack access to it around the world.

Spread the word. Let's get every hotel in North America to join the Global Soap Network...and save lives around the world.

Comments

[Angie Briggs]

I like the idea a lot, Bill. Unfortunately, I've noticed that the housekeeping staff at a number of hotels I've visited recently are "recycling" soap by placing the previous guest's slightly used soap BACK in the box and leaving it for the next guest (ewww). So, ironically, I've started packing my own soap when I travel. Perhaps installing bath gel dispensers in hotel showers is a better solution to ensure a sanitary, no waste environment.

[Donna Grube]

We just got back from a tour all around the UK & Ireland and saw not a single bar of soap even though we stayed in eight different hotels. All had liquid soap and shower gel dispensers. I thought that was a great idea!

[Bill Geist]

Recycling soap in the box for the next guest? Angie…you stay at ALL the best places ;)

But, yes…liquid soap makes so much more sense (and is likely significantly more cost effective for hotels (after the initial investment). Amazed so few in the States have gone that direction.