Clean Hands Save Lives

In March of 2020 little was known on what could help stop the spread of the coronavirus, but the one thing that did work was handwashing. While many companies wanted to do something, Colgate-Palmolive was uniquely positioned to activate globally to slow disease transmission.

In just 35 days, we created a bar of soap designed to save lives which included educational materials on proper handwashing techniques. With the help of the World Health Organization, Unicef and DHL our soaps reached 100 million people living in remote regions across 28 countries that had little access to life-saving supplies. Our handwashing awareness campaign was translated into more than 30 languages and helped educate 1.5 billion people in 88 countries.

The success of this campaign has resulted in Colgate-Palmolive being invited to the United Nations forum on handwashing and hygiene. And, has made them a core partner with Unicef in their global handwashing initiative, thus broadening the campaign’s overall mission to establish lifelong habits that help protect and prevent transmittable diseases.