Tork, an Essity brand and the global leader in professional hygiene, has announced the next phase of its Better Hygiene for All initiative, a global effort to help improve public restrooms by identifying and addressing barriers that can prevent people from meeting their hygiene needs.

As part of this effort, Tork is creating more ways to listen, learn, and support action through:

• An inclusive hygiene resource hub, which gives facility managers practical guidance, data, tools and real-world examples to help deliver public restrooms that meet the hygiene needs of as many people as possible. The hub also invites restroom users to share their experiences to help inform future improvements.
• A Global Expert Network for Better Hygiene for All, a forum that brings together like-minded leaders in facility management, architecture, advocacy and hygiene to work collectively and share insights to improve public restrooms worldwide.

Barriers to hygiene in public restrooms are more common than many facility operators realize and go far beyond visible cleanliness alone. A barrier to hygiene can arise when there is a mismatch between a person’s abilities, needs, or circumstances and the restroom environment – from harsh soaps that affect skin sensitivities, to noisy air dryers that overwhelm people with auditory or neuro sensitivities, to dispensers that are difficult to use for people with limited hand mobility.

More than half of people face hygiene barriers in public restrooms, and only one in five public restrooms meet basic cleanliness expectations. As a result, people may spend less time in a venue, leave earlier, or avoid returning altogether.

Through its multi-year journey to advance inclusive hygiene, Tork is working to help create restroom environments that consider the full range of barriers and meet the hygiene needs of as many people as possible. Recently, the brand debuted the Tork Coalition for Inclusive Hygiene – a North America based expert network that is now expanding globally with the Global Expert Network launch – and the Inclusive Hygiene Playbook, a research-backed guide teaching facility managers how to address the most common hygiene barriers in public restrooms.

“Inclusive hygiene in public restrooms starts with understanding what people need to feel safe, comfortable, and cared for,” said Amy Bellcourt, VP Corporate Communications, Professional Hygiene, Essity. “Through this journey, we’ve listened closely to people who have shared their experiences and feedback on barriers to hygiene in public restrooms, and to facility managers who are in search of better guidance and practical tools to support their daily operations. Better Hygiene for All brings those voices, tools and examples together to help drive meaningful progress.”