Hands-2-Others (H2O)Soaps

Help-2-Others (H2O) Soaps aim to address the issue of inaccessibility to basic hygiene, by providing soaps to health deprived communities in Pakistan.  Data collected by the Tayaba Welfare International Association (TWIA) reveals the wastage of hundreds of thousands of soap bars by major hotel chains in the country. H2O Soaps are repurposed lightly used, discarded hotel soap bars, recycled to be distributed to populations in need of hygiene resources, and reducing environmental waste. Moreover, TWIA hopes to mitigate information gaps by providing hygiene education. By accessing quantifiable variables such as the number of soaps saved (from going to the landfill), the number of jobs created, the number of soaps distributed, and the number of individuals contracting diseases, TWIA will be able to measure the extent that the goals of the solution, namely, improving access to safe water, enabling better health and hygiene, and creating economic opportunities are being realized.

Globally, an estimated 1.4 million children die from pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases (UNICEF, 2016). In Pakistan, where low-income communities are unaware of and lack access to basic hygiene facilities, repeated cases of diseases have led to high stunting rates in children. In addition, respiratory and diarrhoeal diseases account for 8 and 6 percent of total deaths in the country (Dawn News, 2020). Further, the onset of Covid-19 has exacerbated the health situation in an already hygiene-deprived region. Hand-washing has been shown to reduce the risk of diarrhoeal associated deaths by 50% and respiratory infections by 16% (CDC, 2016). However, research was done by WHO revealed that an estimated 40% of the Pakistani population lacked access to basic hygiene facilities including soap. Inaccessibility combined with a lack of awareness regarding basic hygiene results in an alarming 20 million individuals in Pakistan that do not wash their hands after using the bathroom.

The H2O Solution will be implemented in the following way:

1. Soap Collection:
TWIA has launched a “H2O Soaps Hospitality” Programme, through which it will identify and partner with hotels and hospitality groups for the collection of used soaps. An application will be launched for enrolling hotels, beneficiary tracking as well as notification for  when soaps are ready for collection.

As a pilot, TWIA aims to potentially collect from around all Hashoo group hotels in Lahore, Islamabad & Rawalpindi. Once the test collection period is completed, it will assess potential volumes and capacity for collection and processing across Pakistan. 

2. Soap Processing
Our secondary research and conversations with global soap recyclers conclude that soaps can be processed both mechanically and non-mechanically. Scraping and reprocessing into new bars using non-electric tools are the easiest ways to prepare used soaps in developing countries like Pakistan.

3. Distribution
Soap distribution requires accompanying hygiene education. Our research suggests that a bundle of well-drained 20-30 reprocessed soaps should last a household of 5 to 7 people for at least 6 months. TWIA aims to distribute 200,000 soaps in its first year across Punjab and Sindh (in target households identified through our needs assessment), thereby, positively impacting almost 10,000 households.

Soap remains a luxury for many in Pakistan especially, in its underprivileged areas and urban slums. H2O Soaps aim to provide these low-income communities access to the most basic hygiene mechanism, while simultaneously countering misinformation, reducing environmental waste, and creating economic opportunities.

Households in rural Pakistan are large, often with six or more family members, and resultingly have a high average of people sleeping per room, at three or more. Thus, if one person is sick, the disease is likely to quickly spread. Experts at John Hopkins University advise that in areas like these especially, credible information regarding disease outbreaks must be shared urgently. Yet, large portions of Pakistan’s rural population lack access to regular mass media and the internet. In addition, many of these rural residents, even when given access to mainstream sources of information, are reluctant to change their established beliefs, an effect of the collectivist nature of these communities. Busting myths and misconceptions in one rural community, therefore, has a ‘ripple effect’, whereby individuals’ behavior is influenced by a change in the prevailing societal attitudes. Thus, only in conjunction with on-ground efforts to counter misinformation, can any health-improving initiative be successful.

TWIA, due to its previous experience working with marginalized and isolated communities, has built strong relationships with these communities, which are likely to lead to the success of its’ awareness campaigns.

Apart from functioning as an affordable hygiene solution, H2O soaps lessen environmental waste and many health problems caused as a result. Soap contains ingredients such as SLS (aka Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate), fragrance, and dyes which cause low to moderate aquatic toxicity in the environment as well as have a negative dermal impact. Discarded soap bars worsen the environment by increasing the carbon footprint, eco-toxicity, ozone depletion potential, and eutrophication potential (Osmanski, 2020). Soap recycling, can potentially divert tons of waste from the landfill, and support the needs of vulnerable populations.

Furthermore, through a WISE (Work Integration Social Enterprise) program, with the key aim of providing employment, training, and ultimately reintegration into the workplace for groups of people generally excluded from the labor market, H2O Soaps aim to operate as a mechanism for socio-economic empowerment. it focuses on individuals that are disadvantaged, or under-employed people, such as minorities, the marginalised, and the disabled. Thus, employing individuals especially, women from disadvantaged minority backgrounds, who typically face a myriad of challenges in terms of employment, as soap makers, managers, and operational supervisors, TWIA aims to create a socio-economically inclusive society.

Every day thousands of individuals die from diseases that can be largely prevented simply by washing their hands with soap. (UNICEF, 2016). Especially pertinent to the current situation, hand-washing with soap is one of the most effective preventative mechanisms against COVID-19 (WHO, 2020). Through campaigns to counter misinformation regarding health and improving accessibility to the most basic hygiene solution through positive behavioural change nudges (like placing recycled soaps in communal places), TWIA aims to inspire individuals to protect themselves and their communities from disease outbreaks.

Despite the pressing need and a simple solution to meet it as well as demonstrating proof of concept in other countries, H2O soaps has not been piloted in Pakistan. Considering both primary and secondary research sources, as a pilot, TWIA aims to potentially collect from around all Hashoo group hotels in urban cities like Lahore, Islamabad & Rawalpindi. Once the test collection period is completed, it will assess potential volumes and capacity for collection and processing across Pakistan.

Our research suggests that a bundle of well-drained 20-30 reprocessed soaps should last a household of 5 to 7 people for at least 6 months. TWIA aims to distribute 200,000 soaps in its first year across Punjab and Sindh (in target households identified through our needs assessment), thereby, positively impacting almost 10,000 households.

   H2O Soaps exemplify innovation in their simple manufacturing process, and ability to act as an adept response to Covid-19. Soaps can be processed both mechanically and non-mechanically. Scraping and reprocessing into new bars using non-electric tools are easy and cost effective techniques to revitalize used soaps. Since the primary goal of H2O soaps is to enable better hygiene for vulnerable people, it is vital to ensure that the solution incurs minimal costs. Further, non-mechanical manufacturing ensures that socioeconomically weak individuals, who lack technological expertise, are not excluded from economic opportunities .

4 Full time
3 Part Time
50+ Volunteers across Pakistan

        TWIA has successfully carried out the distribution of H2O Wheels, before undertaking the current initiative. Since, we will be working with the same communities, the consumer relationships built through the earlier project will enable us to be able to spread awareness regarding hygiene, and eliminate inaccessibility concerns more effectively. TWIA has also established partnerships with corporations, looking to improve their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and public relations standings.
        The founder of TWIA, Bilal Bin Saqib holds a Masters in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the London School of Economics. His previous innovative idea, H2O Wheels, was successfully implemented in Pakistan, for which he received international recognitions such as Forbes 30 under 30 and PM Boris Johnson's Points of Light Awards.

More members of TWIA's Team:

Nida Yousef Sheikh (Female): Director Strategy and Business Development (MSc Economic Psychology 2019 LSE)

•Prior strategic planning and research experience at a Pakistani start-up, incubating social entrepreneurial solutions

• Awarded a shield by the Managing Director for her  outstanding contribution to the scale up (from PKR 50-million to PKR 2-billion+)

• MSc dissertation on marginalised female entrepreneurs, is being reworked for publication

Sawla Ali Khan (Female): Head of Operations (University of Southern California)

• Experience in Digital Marketing, Management, Content Creation and Writing in fields such as cinema and politics

Momin Saqib (Male) : Head of Marketing (BSc Computer Science with Management KCL)

•The first non-European President of the King's College London Students' Union.

•A  member of the Principal's core team at King's College London. Recipient of the Points of Light Award

     Preaching the need for diversity is simple, but practicing inclusion in a way that actually makes your team members feel valued is more crucial. At TWIA, the first step in attaining diversity lies in recognising the full scope of diversity, which includes characteristics relating to age, disability status educational experience LGBTQ status religion, parent/family caregiver status, and socioeconomic background. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.

     Working in a patriarchal society, our organisation has made it a mission to employ women in leadership roles. This is done to not only implement its commitment towards abolishing gender roles, but also build a team which is truly representative of the lowest strata of its consumer base, in which disadvantaged women exist in a larger proportion. TWIA's current leadership team has 3:2 female to male ratio. We believe that the concerns of women are better identified and addressed by women themselves.

     Similarly, TWIA aims to enlist individuals from the low income communities it plans to help, for manufacturing and distribution jobs.This will help the organisation gain access to these typically socially-isolated communities, and resultantly, make its efforts to spread hygiene awareness more successful. Thus, to TWIA, it is plain: an organisation is stronger not in spite of its diversity, it is stronger because of it.