In a new partnership, Carnival Cruise Line has agreed to donate approximately 40 tons of discarded soap annually to Clean the World, an organization that will recycle it into new bars that will be distributed to vulnerable communities worldwide. Clean the World, a global health leader in WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), is dedicated to saving lives by recycling and distributing soap and other hygiene products to more than 127 countries.
As part of the program, Carnival will start collecting discarded soap from guest and crew staterooms throughout the fleet and send it to a Clean the World recycling center where the soap will be sanitized, melted down, and reprocessed. Together, Carnival and Clean the World will distribute more than 400,000 new, clean bars of soap to people in need across the globe each year.
The new program has already been tested on several of Carnival’s ships and will be rolled out across its entire North American fleet by the end of July. It is one of multiple initiatives underway to further reduce waste disposal and recycle additional products used on board.
Through its partnership with Carnival, Clean the World will be able to expand its existing recycling program to locations throughout the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Bermuda, and Central America, providing life-saving hygiene services to residents in these areas as well as further support its WASH programming in the Dominican Republic.
“We’re proud and honored to be the first large-scale cruise line to partner with Clean the World, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of those in underprivileged communities throughout the world,” continues Duffy. “Carnival guests use more than three million bars of soap each year. With this partnership, we’ll positively impact the lives of so many people who will have access to a basic hygiene product that so many of us take for granted.”
Nearly 5,000 children under age five die each day – two million children a year – due to hygiene-related diseases. Through its efforts, Clean the World has contributed to a 60 percent reduction in the death rate of young children worldwide.
“We rely on partners to help us deliver much-needed hygiene supplies to children and families in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and South America, which are among the areas most in need of this support,” says Shawn Seipler, founder and chief executive officer, Clean the World. “This incredible partnership with Carnival Cruise Line allows us to expand our outreach, putting more soap into the hands of people in need. We hope that this program will continue to grow in the future.”
Carnival joins a long list of other hotels and travel companies who have partnered with Clean the World. For the entire list, click here.
