We work with some incredible charities, organisations and community groups that both inspire and educate all of us here at smol.
Working with the Ocean Recovery Project, (part of Keep Britain Tidy) has opened our eyes first hand to the plastic pollution facing the planet and specifically our UK coastlines. We are committed to raising funds and supporting efforts to keep our beaches clean, clear plastic pollution from our seashores and recycle rubbish turning wasteful into useful. Our smol Sea Changes are one such way we support this vital work. Creating brilliant items from ocean plastic to raise awareness and funds for charity.
Part of our social responsibility lies in offering quality job opportunities to those who face barriers to employment. It’s always felt important that those who are at the most disadvantaged should have fair and equal access to quality jobs and ensuring this provision only strengthens our team and business. Upskilling employees and providing better paid work that is more stable with valuable career progression is something we continue to champion; and those who mentor and train will benefit in turn by developing the skills to nurture somebody else’s development.
As a cleaning brand we were aware of the reality of hygiene poverty but perhaps not quite the extent. The incredible people at The Hygiene Bank have helped educate us and open our eyes to what we are facing. According to the 2022 UK Poverty Report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, children have had the highest poverty rates throughout the past 25 years of any group in our society and in 2019/20, a staggering 31% of children were living in poverty. We knew we could help and we knew our customers would want to help.
Our donate a wash scheme allows our customers to opt in to a 30p plan that sits alongside their smol laundry or dishwash. It means that every time their smol order processes they pay an extra 30p which allows us to send TWO free washes to those in need on our customer’s behalf. Thousands of our lovely customers take part and 2023 saw that scheme alone donate nearly HALF A MILLION washes!
But our ongoing work with The Hygiene Bank inspired us to do more.
And so Suds in Schools was launched in 2021 with the aim of installing mini-launderettes into schools across the UK. These machines give families in need free access to laundry facilities and detergent to ensure no child in their care has to suffer from the consequences of not having clean clothes/uniforms.
Each school gets a brand new washing machine/dryer (fully installed) and all the detergent they need to ensure children's clothing can be regularly laundered completely free of charge.
Of course, it's not always straightforward to set these stations up. It's vital to make sure the machine sits in a suitable area within school property, that families can have easy access without disturbing the school and always ensuring that children are safe-guarded. BUT....we're making huge progress!
We’re always looking for ways to work within the community so if you’ve got a great idea for some smol changes that will help the planet and its people then please get in touch with us on help@smolproducts.com. We’d LOVE to hear from you.
If you’d like to find out more about our work with The Hygiene Bank click here.
