History

From Idea to Action

The Global Soap Project began in May 2009. Founder Derreck Kayongo introduced a concept that would improve global health and at the same time reduce systemic waste in the hospitality industry. His idea was simple: take some of the 3 million bars of soap thrown away every day by hotels, and reprocess it into new soap that can be shared with vulnerable populations around the world.

A former refugee, Derreck saw firsthand the health issues that could be prevented by lack of soap, and believed he could make a difference by making it accessible to everyone.

Proof of Concept

Our first year of operation was spent proving that the concept could actually work. Several business professionals assembled to form a working board and quickly began to build the organization. Our “project” grew into a 501c3 non-profit with an entirely volunteer supported operation including administration, hotel coordination, logistics, manufacturing and management of strategic partnerships.

We have partnered with other non-profits and NGOs with established distribution channels to take our soap into the areas where it is needed. This has enabled the Global Soap Project to focus on making soap.

Why Give Soap, Not Money?

We explored several business strategies, including raising money in the United States to fund local procurement and/or manufacturing of soap closer to the populations we serve, particularly in Africa. We determined that our first years were best spent building the operation in the United States, learning from our mistakes and opportunities.

The Global Soap Project is also very committed to our original concept of diverting waste from the landfills and turning it into a weapon to fight disease. Our hotel partners are equally committed and passionate. With nearly 3 million bars of soap discarded by US hotels every day, we believe there is unlimited potential with hotels around the world.

Next Steps

Moving into our third year, we are excited about our growth and the overwhelming support we have received from all over the world. We are expanding operations in the United States and eventually hope to establish centers in other countries.

While we work to grow capacity and reduce waste in the United States, the Global Soap Project is involved in a never-ending journey to find ways for increasing efficiency. We seek to discover solutions that will reduce the environmental impact of our processes, and further engage the populations we serve.  We’re working with universities, chemical companies, hotel companies, corporations, philanthropists, NGO’s and anyone else that can help us improve. In the meantime, soap is needed desperately in many parts of the world, and we’re providing a small but real answer to this need, while contributing positively to the environment here at home.

The Global Soap Project prides itself on being a learning organization; we invite comments and suggestions from interested supporters at any time. Please send your comments to info@globalsoap.org.