Eco-Soap Bank’s mission is to ensure that no one, especially children, suffer harm and hardship due to the lack of soap. Today, over 2 billion people remain deprived of this fundamental illness protection – resulting in an unmitigated spread of highly preventable illnesses, extensive deaths (mostly young children), and billions of dollars in public health expenditure per year. At the same time, soap factories annually discard hundreds of millions of bars worth of soap waste directly into landfills.
Over the last couple of years, Eco-Soap Bank has recycled over 4,600 tons of soap factory waste and redistributed 66 million recycled soap bars to 10 million vulnerable community members across the world. To meet the most immediate needs, our efforts have mainly been directed at emergency contexts and aid programs.
To help improve hygiene access for those people outside of short to medium term-relief efforts, Eco-Soap Bank recently launched a brand-new initiative utilizing a familiar, but for these ends highly underutilized, system that penetrates even the most remote corners of the globe – the retail system. As beneficiaries in rural Tanzania reported when asked how to sustainably improve their every-day access to soap:
“make it [soap] more affordable for everyone” and make sure that “Eco-Soap is available to purchase in nearby shops”.
Responding directly to this bottom-up demand, we introduced the micro-enterprise initiative. The program offers marginalized women in low-income countries the opportunity to become recycled soap selling entrepreneurs. Our objective is to help set up new women-operated micro-enterprises that create opportunities for economic empowerment among local women and improve access to high-quality, affordable soap in vulnerable, hard-to-reach communities.
Women operated micro-enterprises are increasingly recognized for the ability to provide crucial income streams for poor and marginalized groups in the least developed economies. The practice facilitates the economic participation of women and has been strongly linked to improved access to basic needs, nutrition, healthcare, and education — making a significant contribution to fulfill immediate household needs and enhance family sustainability and wellbeing.
In our latest report, we present the findings from a pilot program evaluation study in Uganda. The study focuses on the impacts among a new team of female soap sellers. Using a survey-based pre-post (baseline/endline) evaluation design including 45 participants from the rural Kiboga province, the study finds that Eco-Soap Bank’s recycled soap sellers experienced a tangible improvement within key financial metrics as well as an overall improvement in wellbeing. Notable changes included a 43% increase in monthly income as well as a 104% increase in savings and a 58% decrease in debt. The study also found a decrease in financial stress levels, improvements in personal agency, increased well-being, and a stronger positivity regarding the future.
“The soap selling program has helped me become self-sustainable and independent and given me hope for a better future “– Respondent 29, Kiboga, Uganda
“As a mother of 5 children, [the soap selling program] has helped me improve my ability to make decisions, invest, and spend [money] on my children” – Respondent 45, Kiboga, Uganda
The results show that Eco-Soap Bank’s micro-enterprise model represents a viable solution to promote women’s economic empowerment and improve access to high-quality recycled soap in vulnerable, hard-to reach communities.
We are now working to expand the program to include more women and countries.
For the full research paper and more, check our our research page
1800 Murray Ave PO box 81188 Pittsburgh PA 15217
Please do not send soap to this address
+1 610 762 3265
contact@ecosoapbank.org
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
