IRVINE, CALIF.—The Meritage Collection announces a partnership with Clean the World to help fight the spread of preventable diseases. The lifestyle hotel brand now sends discarded soap and bottled amenities to Clean the World recycling centers where they are sanitized and then distributed globally to children and families in need.
Clean the World’s simple mission is to recycle soap from the hospitality industry and save lives through the distribution of these donated amenities. The social enterprise currently partners with more than 4,000 hotels and resorts to place life-saving hygiene products in the hands of those who need them most.
Steve Arnold, President and COO of the Meritage Collection’s parent company, Pacific Hospitality Group said, “We are excited to partner with Clean the World on a program that not only will reduce our ecological footprint, but also aid others in need. Through this collaboration, the Meritage Collection will divert an estimated 4.5 tons of waste.”
About two million children under the age of five die every year due to hygiene-related illnesses. Hand washing with soap is a low-cost intervention that can reduce those deaths by almost 50 percent. Since 2009, Clean the World has distributed more than 30 million bars of soap in 100 countries.
“Sustainability is a major focus for hotels,” said Shawn Seipler, CEO and co-founder of Clean the World. “We estimate the North American lodging industry throws away more than a million bars of soap each day. By recycling soap and bottled amenities, the Meritage Collection is having a positive effect from both an environmental and humanitarian perspective.”
Go to the Meritage Collection and Clean the World.
