• As pupils head back to school, Boots UK and The Hygiene Bank launch new “you donate = we donate” initiative to help children living in hygiene poverty
• Over four million children currently live in poverty in the UK and many are back at school without basic hygiene essentials*
• School teacher, Jordan Crawford, shares his experience of hygiene poverty at his school and explains how a small donation can really go a long way

As pupils across the country returned to the classroom after almost three months of home-schooling, Boots UK and The Hygiene Bank step up their joint ambition to tackle hygiene poverty.  The new “you donate = we donate” commitment from Boots comes at a time where schools and communities are most in need and the scheme will see Boots donate four full sized products for every kilogram donated.

School teacher, Jordan Crawford, talks to Boots about hygiene poverty and how donations from Boots and The Hygiene Bank are supporting children and their families.

"Hygiene poverty can have a knock-on effect on children’s confidence which is one of the foundations to success at school. The donations from Boots and The Hygiene Bank have been a massive help in alleviating these anxieties. It has been an amazing feeling handing donations over to parents and they’ve been overwhelmed by the generosity.”

During the first year of its partnership, Boots has donated over 620,000 products to the Hygiene Bank which has gone on to support 155 local charities. In addition, together with The Hygiene Bank, it has also been involved in providing educational resources for schools.

Lucy Reynolds, Communications and CSR Director at Boots UK says, “Boots and The Hygiene Bank are working together to give more children access to the hygiene products that they need as they return to the classroom. Everyone has the right to be clean and healthy and have access to essential hygiene products like soap, toothpaste and deodorant. Our young people are now also in need of new items such as face coverings and hand gel and so we have added these to our donation lists. We are really thankful to our colleagues and customers for the incredible support over the past year in helping us to help families across the UK access these items”

Now with over 250 drop off points across the country, it is easier than ever to donate hygiene essentials from any brand at your local Boots store. To find out where your nearest drop off point is visit Boots.com.