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ALDI PARTNERS WITH HYGIENE HUB TO HELP THOSE IN NEED IN WICKLOW

Collection for unused hygiene products will take place in Arklow and Rathnew stores

ALDI has partnered with Hygiene Hub, a charity dedicated to collecting new, unused, in-date personal care and household cleaning essentials for distribution to those in need.

This year, in a joint effort with Hygiene Hub, ALDI has taken a step toward addressing the issue of hygiene poverty and will be carrying out collections at ALDI’s Arklow and Rathnew stores from 1^st to 15^th of October, through which customers can donate hygiene products to those in need via dedicated drop off boxes.

In 2022, ALDI conducted research in collaboration with Hygiene Hub, to examine how economic circumstances have affected people’s access to personal hygiene products.

Key findings from the research include:

• Two in five individuals claim to have had to cut back on their use of personal hygiene products due to their financial situation in the last year.
• Just under half of the respondents claimed they had to prioritise other spending ahead of purchasing hygiene and cleaning products in the past year with one in seven claiming they had to do so multiple times.
• Gen Z (72%) and Millennials (61%) were the most likely cohorts to have had to prioritise other spending over hygiene and cleaning products within the past year, with Baby Boomers being least likely to do so.

Building on these insights, this year, ALDI is working with Hygiene Hub to conduct an in-store collection campaign in County Wicklow, at ALDI’s Rathnew and Arklow stores. These stores will provide designated collection points where customers and community members can contribute new, unused, and in-date personal care and household cleaning essentials.

Commenting on the initiative, Liz Fox, ALDI Sustainability Director said:

“ALDI is deeply rooted in the communities that we operate in, and we understand the financial pressure that so many people are facing.

“We believe that no one should have to sacrifice personal hygiene in order to put food on the table. For this reason, we have teamed up with Hygiene Hub to carry out collections in our Arklow and Rathnew stores in County Wicklow from 1^st to 15^th of October.

“We fully support their goal to eradicate hygiene poverty, and we look forward to exploring further opportunities to collaborate with them in the future on this important goal.”

Welcoming the partnership, Katrina McDonald, Wicklow Hub Coordinator at Hygiene Hub said:

“As the national charity for hygiene poverty, Hygiene Hub is dedicated to working towards eradicating this problem whilst supporting those most at-risk with the products they need. That’s why partnerships like this with ALDI are so important as it will see our network of drop-off points increase and we encourage everyone who is able, to consider donating relevant products at those stores taking part.”