Clean the World

Clean the World is the world's largest organization recycling hotel soap. It is also the first "benefit corporation," or "B" corporation established in Florida.[1] The CEO of the organization is Shawn Seipler.[2] Clean the World partners with the Global Soap Project.[3]

About

Clean the World collects discarded soap and shampoo from the hotel industry and then sanitizes the soap so that it can be recycled and distributed to the poor in order to prevent hygiene-related death.[4][5] By 2015, Clean the World had distributed over 20 million bars of soap to the poor in 96 different countries.[6] Access to soap helps prevent the spread of illnesses and helps prevent hygiene related deaths.[7] Every year, millions of children die of preventable diseases because they lack access to soap.[8] In the United States, hotels contribute to landfill waste, up to around 200 million metric tons of solid waste every year.[9]

History

Shawn Seipler and Paul Till started Clean the World in 2009.[10] Originally, they hadn't intended for Clean the World to become a nonprofit, instead they wanted to own a business which was both "green" and would make them money.[10] Every day in the United States, one million bars of hotel soap are dumped in landfills. When founder, Seipler, discovered this information, he realized that there may be a business opportunity using this information.[10] Seipler and Till searched for a way to use their idea. The United States proved not to be a good market, but when they found out how many children die because of hygiene-related illness, they decided they would help distribute soap around the world.[10]

Seipler and Till started small, working with their family and friends and operating out of a garage in Orlando, Florida.[11] They broke down the soap they received from hotels using meat-grinders and other kitchen utensils and then cooked the soap into clean bars.[11] Eventually, they moved to downtown Orlando and upgraded the technology and machines used.[9]

Laguna Beach, in 2011, became the first city in the United States to have all hotels participate in Clean the World.[12]

Within three years, the home business became an "international charity that has distributed 9.5 million bars of recycled soap in 45 countries."[13] By 2015, they were distributing soap in 99 different countries.[14] Clean the World has helped redirect 250 tons of soap from going into Nevada landfills as of 2014.[15]

In 2016, the Orlando Magic helped promote Clean the World distribute soap "to the less fortunate."[16]

References

  1. Brinkman, Paul (15 July 2014). "Clean the World Becomes Florida 'B' Corporation". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. Skoloff, Brian (10 April 2015). "How Used Hotel Soap Could 'Clean the World'". Inc. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  3. Thornton, Lisa (5 November 2015). "Project Recycles Soap to Save Lives". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  4. "M&R Hotel Management Joins Clean the World Effort to Recycle Soap". Hospitality Net. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  5. Martin, Hugo (17 August 2014). "Recycled Hotel Soap is Turned Into 20 Million Soap Bars for Needy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  6. Martin, Hugo (28 June 2015). "Used Duvets from Bacara Resort Become Clothing for Orphans". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  7. "Our Work". Global Soap Project. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  8. Fantz, Ashley (15 November 2011). "Lack of Soap Means Illness, Death for Millions of Children". CNN. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  9. 1 2 Sachs, Andrea (6 January 2012). "Clean the World: Hotel Soaps That Care". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Parris, Denise; McInnis-Bowers, Cecilia (1 June 2014). "Social Entrepreneurship Questioning the Status Quo: Waste as a Resource". Journal of Economic Issues. 48 (2): 359–366. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Group Hopes Recycled Soap Helps Save Lives". WJXT News Jacksonville. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  12. "Laguna Beach Hotels to Recycle All Soaps -- A First in U.S.". Los Angeles Times. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  13. Ferraro, Gary; Andreatta, Susan (2014). Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective. Cengage Learning. p. 207. ISBN 9781285738499.
  14. Jones, Jay (18 April 2015). "Soap Recycling Program Aims for a Cleaner, Healthier Future". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  15. "Nonprofit Offers Recycled Soap Made in Las Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  16. Cohen, Josh (28 July 2016). "Orlando Magic Help 'Clean the World' and Save Lives". Pure Magic. Retrieved 11 September 2016.

External links

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