Clean the World Receives 350,000 Soap Bars to Fight Spread of COVID-19

Clean the World Foundation, a leader in global health dedicated to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and global sustainability, joins forces with Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming to fight the spread of COVID-19. The organizations donated 350,000 bars of soap to Clean the World Foundation, which will be used to provide life-saving soap to individuals and families across the globe who are most vulnerable to hygiene-related illnesses.

Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming currently participate in Clean the World's Hospitality Recycling program. Through this program, room attendants collect the soap and bathroom amenities left behind by hotel guests and ship them to a Clean the World facility. The soap is ground, sanitized, melted and reprocessed into a brand-new bar of soap. The plastic bathroom bottles are sent to a recycling or waste-to-energy facility. Since 2018, Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming have diverted a combined 15,000 pounds of waste from landfills and distributed almost 33,000 bars of soap to those in need.

The COVID-19 crisis has greatly affected the hospitality industry, so the soap coming into Clean the World has decreased significantly. For this reason, Clean the World is relying on partners such as Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming to donate hygiene supplies to allow the organization to meet its soap production goals and distribute soap to COVID-19 relief organizations with the greatest need.

"Soap is not federally subsidized, so individuals and families, especially living in transitional housing or experiencing homelessness, rarely have access to soap and other hygiene supplies to keep them safe," says Sam Stephens, executive director of Clean the World Foundation, in a statement. "Handwashing with soap is the most effective way to fight COVID-19, so it is crucial that we get supplies out to relief organizations as quickly as possible. We are incredibly thankful to Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming for their donation, which allows us to meet demands quickly."

"We are incredibly grateful to be able to help this worthy cause, especially right now," said Tracy Bradford, executive vice president of administration for Hard Rock International and Seminole Gaming, in a statement. "Save the Planet is one of our founding core beliefs since 1971; we have a significant investment behind the meaning of this principle."

Clean the World Foundation is distributing more than 1.5 million bars of soap across North America in response to COVID-19. Shipments have been sent to New York, Washington state, Louisiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Nevada, Florida and Mexico. The foundation plans to send an additional 3 million bars of soap in the next 90 days to the hardest-hit areas affected by COVID-19 around the world.