Do you ever wonder what becomes of the soap and shampoo you leave behind in a hotel? Those lovely pre-wrapped packages that are set up so nice for just your use, are discarded when you check out. Tons of garbage heading nowhere!

We recently joined the Clean the World program here at White Oaks Resort, which to be honest, I didn’t really understand. Clean the World collects the soap and shampoo products that are discarded by hotels everyday once a guest departs and recycles them into sterile, new products. These new soaps and shampoos are distributed all over the world to people in need. Sounds like a great green initiative for us and a win for those less fortunate. However, it goes so much deeper and is far more important than I ever could imagine.

Did you know that 34% of deaths in children under the age of 5 in this world are from diarrhoeal disease and acute respitory infections that can be greatly reduced by soap intervention? We hear all the time how there is no excuse for uncleanliness because soap is cheap. Soap may be cheap and readily available to us – but not so in many countries. Clean the world distributes their new soap products, over 600 tons to date to over 30 different countries and over 20 domestic locations such as homeless shelters, missions, women’s homes and food kitchens. The soap products make a profound difference to the basic health of people everywhere and prevent needless deaths.

White Oaks is proud to be part of this amazing program. Check out their website for more details and for a list of all the hotels belonging to this effort.