A charity has warned that people are increasingly unable to afford items needed to feel clean and healthy. The Hygiene Bank's deputy chief executive, Rosemary Ashworth, stated that the "face" of hygiene poverty has changed, now affecting working families and those who previously felt financially secure.
A recent survey of 3,042 UK adults, conducted by The Hygiene Bank and In Kind Direct, indicated that 18% had experienced hygiene poverty in the last six months, or someone in their household had. Of those affected, 41% reported experiencing it for the first time this year.
Essential items include toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, sanitary pads, and laundry detergent, according to Janice Sedgwick, a volunteer at the charity's Guildford branch. The Hygiene Bank suggests that this issue "can create a vicious cycle, affecting health, confidence, education, work and social participation."
The Hygiene Bank is encouraging donations of essential products or money for National Hygiene Week, which concludes on 11 October.